Cues derived from facial appearance in security-related contexts:a biological and socio-cognitive framework

Failures in the security process can have profound costs for both the individual and organizations (e.g., fraud costs the British economy approximately £72 billion; NFA, 2012). A biological and socio-cognitive framework may enhance our understanding of the security process, as the two perspectives collectively acknowledge that (i) competition for resources is/was an important factor in human social behavior and evolution (e.g., Bowles, 2009) and (ii) individuals differ in the ways in which they interpret information given their own traits and circumstances. Both levels of explanation (Mayr, 1963; Tinbergen, 1963) could generate novel hypotheses. For example, proximate-level explanations may clarify how resources are defended and extorted, and the cognitive processes underlying the “chess game” between gatekeepers and “gate crashers.” Ultimate-level explanations may clarify why some individuals are more likely than others to succeed at securing or gaining access to resources and whether certain security-related outcomes can be reliably predicted given specific contexts or ecological conditions

Own attractiveness and dissatisfaction with physical appearance independently predict the salience of facial cues to size when women judge other women’s attractiveness

While facial cues to body size are a valid guide to health and attractiveness, it is unclear whether the observer’s own condition predicts the salience of (low) size as a cue to female attractiveness. The current study examines whether measures related to women’s own attractiveness/appearance predict the extent to which they use facial cues to size to differentiate other women on the attractiveness dimension. Women completed a BMI preference task, where they indicated their preference for high- versus low-BMI versions of the same woman, provided data to calculate their BMI and completed various psychometric measures (self-rated attractiveness/health, dissatisfaction with physical appearance). Here, attractive women and women who were dissatisfied with their own appearance were more likely to associate facial cues to low body size with high attractiveness. These data suggest that psychological factors related to women’s appearance shape their evaluations of other women based on cues to size. Such variation in attractiveness judgements may function to reduce the costs of female competition for resources, for example, by identifying ‘quality’ rivals and/or excluding others based on cues to size

Using sexual selection theories to examine contextual variation in heterosexual women’s orientation toward high heels

High heels are symbols of female sexuality and are “costly signals” if the risks of wearing them are offset by improving women’s attractiveness to men. From a functionalist perspective, the costs versus benefits of wearing heels may vary according to personal and contextual factors, such as her effectiveness at competing for mates, or at times when such motives are stronger. Here, we examined potential differences between women (self-rated attractiveness, dyadic versus solitary sexual desire, women’s age, competitive attitudes toward other women) and contextual variation (priming mating and competitive motives) in their responses to high heels. Study 1 (N = 79) and Study 2 (N = 273) revealed that self-rated attractiveness was positively related to orientation toward heeled shoes. When examining responses to two very attractive shoes (one higher-heel, one lower-heel) in Study 2, dyadic sexual desire, but not solitary sexual desire or intrasexual competitiveness, predicted their inclination to buy the higher-heeled shoe. In Study 3 (N = 142), young women chose high heels when primed with free choice of a designer shoe (95% CI [53.02 mm, 67.37 mm]), and preferred a heel 22 mm (0.87”) higher than older women (Study 4, N = 247). Contrary to predictions, priming mating or competitive motives did not alter women’s preference toward a higher heel (Studies 3 and 4). Our studies suggest that attractive women augment their physical appeal via heels. High heels may be a subtle indicator of dyadic sexual desire, and preferences for heels are stronger at times in the lifespan when mating competition is relatively intense

Trait openness and agreeableness are related to a left-leaning political orientation but are negatively related to the endorsement of totalitarian ideals

Although relationships between temperament and political orientation are well established [1-2], it is unclear whether they are moderated by opinions on how we should execute our political ambitions, with or without regard to individual liberty. We examined whether prior relationships between personality and political orientation are replicated using a short-form measure of the Big Five, and whether the extent of these relationships differ when including the endorsement of totalitarian ideals in the same model. We also examined whether self-reported dominance was related to the endorsement of totalitarian ideals, which may develop recent theorizing on the role of agentic personality traits in alliance politics and leadership emergence. [1] Gerber et al. (2010). Am Political Sci Rev, 104, 111-133. [2] Hirsh et al. (2010). Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 36, 655-664 [3] Watkins (2018). In Facial Displays of Leaders (Chapter). [4] van Vugt & Grabo (2015). Curr Dir Psychol Sci, 24, 484-489. [5] Judge & Bono (2000). J Appl Psychol, 85, 751-765

Competition-related factors directly influence preferences for facial cues of dominance in allies

Alliance formation is a critical dimension of social intelligence in political, social and biological systems. As some allies may provide greater ‘leverage’ than others during social conflict, the cognitive architecture that supports alliance formation in humans may be shaped by recent experience, for example in light of the outcomes of violent or non-violent forms intrasexual competition. Here we used experimental priming techniques to explore this issue. Consistent with our predictions, while men’s preference for dominant allies strengthened following losses (compared to victories) in violent intrasexual contests, women’s preferences for dominant allies weakened following losses (compared to victories) in violent intrasexual contests. Our findings suggest that while men may prefer dominant (i.e. masculine) allies following losses in violent confrontation in order to facilitate successful resource competition, women may ‘tend and befriend’ following this scenario and seek support from prosocial (i.e. feminine) allies and/or avoid the potential costs of dominant allies as long-term social partners. Moreover, they demonstrate facultative responses to signals related to dominance in allies, which may shape sex differences in sociality in light of recent experience and suggest that intrasexual selection has shaped social intelligence in humans

Novel Statistical and Machine Learning Methods for the Forecasting and Analysis of Major League Baseball Player Performance

Baseball has quickly become one of the most analyzed sports with significant growth in the last 20 years [1] with an enormous amount of data collected every game that requires professional teams to have a state-of the-art analytics team in order to compete in today\u27s game. Statcast, introduced in 2015, allows for the collection and analysis of a massive amount of baseball data, in ways that were never possible in the past [2]. Using this new Statcast data that is updated every pitch, a novel metric was developed, Pitcher Effectiveness, that is updated dynamically throughout a game. It was shown to be predictive of runs in combination with rate of change of the metric as well as effective in evaluating a starting pitcher on the game level and overall. Baseball can be broken down into a Markov Chain with 24 different states based on the combination of outs and baserunners where throughout the game teams will transition from one base/out state to another when events such as hits, outs, walks, and others occur [3]. Using this idea, pitch sequencing was explored on the micro level of each state individually. Looking at the last three pitches in a sequence, certain sequences in particular states were shown to have some predictive power in predicting outs, hits, and strikeouts. In addition, proportion tests showed significant differences in the proportion of outs and strikeouts of sequences depending on the baseball state. From fantasy baseball to Major League Baseball (MLB) front offices, projections of players’ future performance are important and are explored quite often. Several machine learning methods were explored for projecting future weighted on base average (wOBA) [3]. These methods were evaluated and the best were compared to 2020 projections from the reputable Steamer [4]

Initial experimental evidence that the ability to choose between items alters attraction to familiar versus novel persons in different ways for men and women

Nonhuman species may respond to novel mates with increased sexual motivation (‘The Coolidge Effect1). In humans, novel technological advances, such as online dating platforms, are thought to result in ‘Choice Overload’2. This may undermine the goal of finding a meaningful relationship3, orienting the user toward novel possible partners versus committing to a partner. Here, we used a paradigm measuring change in attraction to familiar faces (i.e. rated on second viewing4) to investigate Coolidge-like phenomena in humans primed with choice of potential online dating partners. We examined two pre-registered hypotheses (https://osf.io/xs74r/files/). First, whether experimentally priming choice (viewing a slideshow of online dating images) directly reduces the attractiveness of familiar preferred sex faces compared to our control condition. Second, whether the predicted effect is stronger for men than women given the role of the Coolidge effect in male sexual motivation5.<br/

Negative effects of makeup use on perceptions of leadership ability across two ethnicities

Cosmetics alter social perceptions, and prior work suggests that cosmetic use may aid female intrasexual competition, making women appear more dominant to other women but more prestigious to other men. It is unclear whether these findings reflect general improvements in perceptions of traits related to women's dominance or if they are specific to mating contexts only. Here, across two ethnicities, we examined effects of cosmetics used for a social night out on perceptions of women's leadership ability, a trait that denotes competence/high status outside of mating contexts. Participants of African and Caucasian ethnicity judged faces for leadership ability where half of the trials differed in ethnicity (own- vs. other-ethnicity face pairs) and the subtlety of the color manipulation (50% vs. 100%). Regardless of the participant's sex or ethnicity, makeup used for a social night out had a negative effect on perceptions of women's leadership ability. Our findings suggest that, in prior work, women are afforded traits related to dominance, as makeup enhances perceptions of traits that are important for successful female mating competition but not other components of social dominance such as leadership