The Effect of Ingroup Identification on Conformity Behavior in Group Decision-Making: The Flipping Direction Matters

Various social influences affect group decision-making processes. For instance, individuals may adapt their behavior to fit in with the group's majority opinion. Furthermore, ingroup favoritism may lead individuals to favor the ideas of ingroup members rather than the outgroup. So far, little is explored on how these phenomena of social conformity and ingroup favoritism manifest in group decision-making processes when a group has to decide in favor or against an item. We address such a scenario where the `flipping direction' of conformity (in favor or against an item) matters. Specifically, we explore whether and how the ingroup favoritism manifests differently in terms of conformity behavior depending on the `flipping direction'. The results show that group inclusiveness does not play a role in the general tendency to conform. However, when it comes to a negative flipping direction, a higher feeling of group inclusiveness seems to play a role; yet, for individualist cultures only

The effect of ingroup identification on conformity behavior in group decision-making: the flipping direction matters

Various social influences affect group decision-making processes. For instance, individuals may adapt their behavior to fit in with the group's majority opinion. Furthermore, ingroup favoritism may lead individuals to favor the ideas of ingroup members rather than the outgroup. So far, little is explored on how these phenomena of social conformity and ingroup favoritism manifest in group decision-making processes when a group has to decide in favor or against an item. We address such a scenario where the ‘flipping direction’ of conformity (in favor or against an item) matters. Specifically, we explore whether and how the ingroup favoritism manifests differently in terms of conformity behavior depending on the `flipping direction'. The results show that group inclusiveness does not play a role in the general tendency to conform. However, when it comes to a negative flipping direction, a higher feeling of group inclusiveness seems to play a role; yet, for individualist cultures only

Using Visual and Linguistic Framing to Support Sustainable Decisions in an Online Store

Companies face several digital communication challenges when it comes to promoting green products or services. The framing effect, which refers to the presentation of information, can significantly influence decision-making in digital interfaces. This research explores the impact of information framing through text and visuals on purchase decisions for sustainable fashion products. An online evaluation study ( = 84) of an e-commerce environment was conducted. We found that visual framing significantly affected user product choices, supporting more sustainability decisions. In contrast, little evidence was found that supported the effectiveness of linguistic (i.e., message) framing on user product choices. We discuss implications on how product pages should be designed to encourage sustainable decision-making.publishedVersio

A summary of the third workshop on theory-informed user modeling for tailoring and personalizing interfaces

The third workshop on Theory-Informed User Modeling for Tailoring and Personalizing Interfaces (HUMANIZE) 1 took place in conjunction with the 24th annual meeting of the intelligent user interfaces (IUI) 2 community in Los Angeles, CA, USA on March 20, 2019. The goal of the workshop was to attract researchers from different fields by accepting contributions on the intersection of practical data mining methods and theoretical knowledge for personalization. A total of six papers were accepted for this edition of the workshop.

Personality Traits Predict Music Taxonomy Preferences

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Selective C-Rel Activation via Malt1 Controls Anti-Fungal TH-17 Immunity by Dectin-1 and Dectin-2

C-type lectins dectin-1 and dectin-2 on dendritic cells elicit protective immunity against fungal infections through induction of TH1 and TH-17 cellular responses. Fungal recognition by dectin-1 on human dendritic cells engages the CARD9-Bcl10-Malt1 module to activate NF-κB. Here we demonstrate that Malt1 recruitment is pivotal to TH-17 immunity by selective activation of NF-κB subunit c-Rel, which induces expression of TH-17-polarizing cytokines IL-1β and IL-23p19. Malt1 inhibition abrogates c-Rel activation and TH-17 immunity to Candida species. We found that Malt1-mediated activation of c-Rel is similarly essential to induction of TH-17-polarizing cytokines by dectin-2. Whereas dectin-1 activates all NF-κB subunits, dectin-2 selectively activates c-Rel, signifying a specialized TH-17-enhancing function for dectin-2 in anti-fungal immunity by human dendritic cells. Thus, dectin-1 and dectin-2 control adaptive TH-17 immunity to fungi via Malt1-dependent activation of c-Rel

The Tetraspanin Protein CD37 Regulates IgA Responses and Anti-Fungal Immunity

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) secretion by plasma cells in the immune system is critical for protecting the host from environmental and microbial infections. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the generation of IgA+ plasma cells remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the B cell–expressed tetraspanin CD37 inhibits IgA immune responses in vivo. CD37-deficient (CD37−/−) mice exhibit a 15-fold increased level of IgA in serum and significantly elevated numbers of IgA+ plasma cells in spleen, mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue, as well as bone marrow. Analyses of bone marrow chimeric mice revealed that CD37–deficiency on B cells was directly responsible for the increased IgA production. We identified high local interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in germinal centers of CD37−/− mice after immunization. Notably, neutralizing IL-6 in vivo reversed the increased IgA response in CD37−/− mice. To demonstrate the importance of CD37—which can associate with the pattern-recognition receptor dectin-1—in immunity to infection, CD37−/− mice were exposed to Candida albicans. We report that CD37−/− mice are evidently better protected from infection than wild-type (WT) mice, which was accompanied by increased IL-6 levels and C. albicans–specific IgA antibodies. Importantly, adoptive transfer of CD37−/− serum mediated protection in WT mice and the underlying mechanism involved direct neutralization of fungal cells by IgA. Taken together, tetraspanin protein CD37 inhibits IgA responses and regulates the anti-fungal immune response

CD14 Deficiency Impacts Glucose Homeostasis in Mice through Altered Adrenal Tone

The toll-like receptors comprise one of the most conserved components of the innate immune system, signaling the presence of molecules of microbial origin. It has been proposed that signaling through TLR4, which requires CD14 to recognize bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), may generate low-grade inflammation and thereby affect insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. To examine the long-term influence of partial innate immune signaling disruption on glucose homeostasis, we analyzed knockout mice deficient in CD14 backcrossed into the diabetes-prone C57BL6 background at 6 or 12 months of age. CD14-ko mice, fed either normal or high-fat diets, displayed significant glucose intolerance compared to wild type controls. They also displayed elevated norepinephrine urinary excretion and increased adrenal medullary volume, as well as an enhanced norepinephrine secretory response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia. These results point out a previously unappreciated crosstalk between innate immune- and sympathoadrenal- systems, which exerts a major long-term effect on glucose homeostasis

Gene-Centric Meta-Analysis of Lipid Traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic Populations

Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) $(p = 8.8×10^{−7} and p = 1.5×10^{−6}$ respectively) and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels $(p = 13.5×10^{−12})$. The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report

Predicting Users' Personality from Instagram Pictures: Using Visual and/or Content Features?

Instagram is a popular social networking application that allows users to express themselves through the uploaded content and the different filters they can apply. In this study we look at personality prediction from Instagram picture features. We explore two different features that can be extracted from pictures: 1) visual features (e.g., hue, valence, saturation), and 2) content features (i.e., the content of the pictures). To collect data, we conducted an online survey where we asked participants to fill in a personality questionnaire and grant us access to their Instagram account through the Instagram API. We gathered 54,962 pictures of 193 Instagram users. With our results we show that visual and content features can be used to predict personality from and perform in general equally well. Combining the two however does not result in an increased predictive power. Seemingly, they are not adding more value than they already consist of independently