"Alone, but not lonely" : the impact of COVID-19 on older persons and the role of technology in staying connected

During the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults face high rates of social isolation compared to other age groups. This is due to the strict physical distancing rules applied to older adults as a result of their vulnerability to coronavirus. Social isolation is known to have negative impacts on the mental health of older adults as a result of loneliness. This includes increased risk of depression and suicidal ideation. This review explores the possible exacerbation of mental health issues among older adults due to social isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also present data demonstrating no difference in distress, and reduced loneliness, among older (N = 101, M age = 20.6 years; 51 female) Australians during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a globally aging population, resources are required to promote social engagement among older adults who may otherwise lead isolated lives. This review article highlights a need for studies examining the validity of online communication tools for ameliorating the ill effects of physical distancing among older adults

Good v. evil : predicting sinning with dark personality traits and moral foundations

Using life history theory, we provided (N = 1236) insight into individual differences in the engagement in human vice or sin (e.g., lust) by examining individual differences in dark personality traits and morality. Moral foundations were associated with sin through the individualizing aspects of morality. Dark personality traits accounted for almost six times more variance in individual differences in sinning than the moral foundations which suggests that it is personality rather than morality that is responsible for sinning behaviors. While sadism and spitefulness accounted for unique and significantly more variance, this was a small and specialized amount. We replicated effects suggesting men are more strongly embodied by dark personality traits and behaviors than women are, and women are more morally virtuous than men are, but showed these sex differences were a function of dark personality traits—in particular—and moral foundations. Overwhelmingly, dark personality traits trump participant’ sex and moral foundations in accounting for variance in sin

A primer on the Dark Triad traits

In this review, we detail three personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) that have gained popularity in the last decade as the 'Dark Triad'. These traits are useful to augment research on personality, like the Big Five traits, as they capture individual differences in 'darker' aspects of personality more fully. We briefly review the body of work surrounding these traits, how they are measured, how they can be understood through the exploration of their nomological network, and the role each trait plays in various domains like organisational psychology and interpersonal relationships. We then detail how an evolutionary paradigm can provide a novel and powerful way of understanding these traits. Finally, we explore broad-spectrum concerns about the research and thoughts on how one might think about these issues

[In Press] Validating the interpersonal theory of suicide among older adultspre- and peri-COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: Global suicide rates are highest among older adults, and especially older men, yet proximal predictors of suicidal ideation in older age remain poorly understood. This study tested the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide in older men and women by investigating whether perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness and/or their interaction are proximal predictors of suicidal ideation before versus during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample (N = 208) included healthy community-dwelling older Australian persons surveyed face-to-face pre-pandemic (n = 102), or online peri-pandemic (n = 106). Depression, social interaction, social satisfaction, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness were assessed as predictors of suicidal ideation. Results: Perceived burdensomeness was a more proximal predictor of suicidal ideation among older adults than depression or thwarted belongingness. Suicidal ideation and perceived burdensomeness were higher in men than women, but sex did not moderate the influence of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness or social satisfaction on suicidal desire. The interaction between perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness predicted more additional variance in suicidal ideation in the older persons surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic relative to those surveyed before the pandemic. Conclusion: Suicidal ideation among older persons peri-pandemic is discussed, and recommendations are made for age-specific suicide prevention strategies

To which world regions does the valence-dominance model of social perception apply?

Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions. We addressed this question by replicating Oosterhof and Todorov’s methodology across 11 world regions, 41 countries and 11,570 participants. When we used Oosterhof and Todorov’s original analysis strategy, the valence–dominance model generalized across regions. When we used an alternative methodology to allow for correlated dimensions, we observed much less generalization. Collectively, these results suggest that, while the valence–dominance model generalizes very well across regions when dimensions are forced to be orthogonal, regional differences are revealed when we use different extraction methods and correlate and rotate the dimension reduction solution. Protocol registration: The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 5 November 2018. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7611443.v1