Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution

The present research examined the psychological motives underlying widespread support for intelligent design theory (IDT), a purportedly scientific theory that lacks any scientific evidence; and antagonism toward evolutionary theory (ET), a theory supported by a large body of scientific evidence. We tested whether these attitudes are influenced by IDT's provision of an explanation of life's origins that better addresses existential concerns than ET. In four studies, existential threat (induced via reminders of participants' own mortality) increased acceptance of IDT and/or rejection of ET, regardless of participants' religion, religiosity, educational background, or preexisting attitude toward evolution. Effects were reversed by teaching participants that naturalism can be a source of existential meaning (Study 4), and among natural-science students for whom ET may already provide existential meaning (Study 5). These reversals suggest that the effect of heightened mortality awareness on attitudes toward ET and IDT is due to a desire to find greater meaning and purpose in science when existential threats are activated

Twitter language use reflects psychological differences between Democrats and Republicans

Previous research has shown that political leanings correlate with various psychological factors. While surveys and experiments provide a rich source of information for political psychology, data from social networks can offer more naturalistic and robust material for analysis. This research investigates psychological differences between individuals of different political orientations on a social networking platform, Twitter. Based on previous findings, we hypothesized that the language used by liberals emphasizes their perception of uniqueness, contains more swear words, more anxiety-related words and more feeling-related words than conservatives' language. Conversely, we predicted that the language of conservatives emphasizes group membership, contains more certainty and more references to achievement and religion than liberals' language. We analysed Twitter timelines of 5,373 followers of three Twitter accounts of the American Democratic and 5,386 followers of three accounts of the Republican parties' Congressional Organizations. The results support most of the predictions and previous findings, confirming that Twitter behaviour offers valid insights to offline behaviour

Emotional Health and the Big Five Personality Factors at the American State Level

Big five, Emotional health, Gallup-healthways well-being index, Neuroticism, Personality, United States,

Fear in the West: a sentiment analysis using a computer-readable “Fear Index”

We tune in on fear to make it visible and detect its drifts. We collect verbal signals of coming fear burrowed in the crackles of political and other speeches by leading figures: Familiar words people use to express fear. From the EmoLex database (Mohammad and Turney in Comput Intel 29(3):436–465, 2013), we develop a computer-readable “Fear Index” to chase fear in the West. We aim a view from above to see how fear has changed, or hasn’t. We first look how valid is the “Fear Index” on texts (fearful novels and historical documents) expected to display specific profiles of fear. Then trace the trend fear follows in speeches of European leaders. The “Fear Index” decreases in the speeches and documents of European political and economic spheres (President Donald Tusk—European Council—, President Mario Draghi—European Central Bank—, and the Global Trade Alert agency). The “Fear Index” spirals upwards among humanitarian leaders (Pope Francis, the Archbishop Justin Welby, and the International Committee of the Red Cross). We record no significant change in the trend of the “Fear Index” in the speeches of President Vladimir Putin. Humanitarian and political leaders changing in counterpoint prompt questions about empathy, or lack of that, in a now bipolar West

Interpersonal trauma moderates the relationship between personality factors and suicidality of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more prone to suicidal ideation and behavior. While those who have experienced interpersonal trauma exhibit more suicidality than those who have experienced non-interpersonal trauma, it is unclear how the traumatic effects are related to an individual's personality characteristics. This study examined the association between interpersonal trauma and personality factors with suicidality, and elucidated the moderating role of interpersonal trauma in individuals with PTSD. The study included 6,022 participants from the Korean Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study 2011. The Korean Version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used for the survey, including the participants' history of suicidality, the traumas they have experienced, and their PTSD symptoms. The 11-item version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-11) was used to assess the participants' personality factors. 76 individuals were diagnosed with PTSD, while 810 had been exposed to trauma but were not diagnosed with any DSM-IV mental disorder. Among the individuals with PTSD, those who had experienced interpersonal trauma were more likely to have suicidal ideation than those who had experienced non-interpersonal trauma (p = .020; odds ratio [OR] = 3.643; 95% confidence interval of OR = [1.226, 10.825]). High agreeableness and conscientiousness predicted less suicidality in those exposed to non-interpersonal trauma, while predicting more suicidality in those exposed to interpersonal trauma. Clinicians examining individuals with PTSD should pay closer attention to the trauma that they have experienced, as well as their personality factors, to provide appropriate treatment