Perceiver Effects as Projective Tests: What Your Perceptions of Others Say about You

In three studies, we document various properties of perceiver effects—or how an individual generally tends to describe other people in a population. First, we document that perceiver effects have consistent relationships with dispositional characteristics of the perceiver, ranging from self-reported personality traits and academic performance to well-being and measures of personality disorders, to how liked the person is by peers. Second, we document that the covariation in perceiver effects among trait dimensions can be adequately captured by a single factor consisting of how positively others are seen across a wide range of traits (e.g., how nice, interesting, trustworthy, happy, and stable others are generally seen). Third, we estimate the one-year stability of perceiver effects and show that individual differences in the typical perception of others have a level of stability comparable to that of personality traits. The results provide compelling evidence that how individuals generally perceive others is a stable individual difference that reveals much about the perceiver’s own personality

How Functionalist and Process Approaches to Behavior Can Explain Trait Covariation

Factors identified in investigations of trait structure (e.g., the Big Five) are sometimes understood as explanations or sources of the covariation of distinct behavioral traits, as when extraversion is suggested to underlie the covariation of assertiveness and sociability. Here, we detail how trait covariation can alternatively be understood as arising from units common to functionalist and process frameworks, such as self-efficacies, expectancies, values, and goals. Specifically, the expected covariation between two behavioral traits should be increased when a specific process variable tends to indicate the functionality of both traits simultaneously. In 2 empirical illustrations, we identify a wide array of specific process variables associated with several Big Five-related behavioral traits simultaneously, and which are thus likely sources of their covariation. Many of these, such as positive interpersonal expectancies, self-regulatory skills, and preference for order, relate similarly to a broad range of trait perceptions in both studies, and across both self- and peer-reports. We also illustrate how this understanding of trait covariation provides a somewhat novel explanation of why some traits are uncorrelated. As we discuss, a functionalist understanding of trait covariation as arising through functionalist or process variables has implications for many basic issues in personality psychology, such as how personality traits should be measured, mechanisms for personality stability and change, and the nature of personality traits more generally. Includes supplementary materials

Faith, Politics, and the Misguided Mission of the Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention has experienced both tremendous growth and intense turmoil in its relatively short history. After experiencing increasing internal conflicts throughout the late twentieth-century, a decade-long battle over the direction of the denomination resulted in a permanent schism within the Convention. The Shift, as I name it, forever altered the landscape of the Southern Baptist Convention. Notably, The Shift witnessed an apparent replacement of traditional Southern Baptist church-state separationism in favor of overt involvement in partisan politics. In this dissertation, I provide a historical sketch of the Southern Baptist Convention and explore the denomination‘s evolving positions on church and state by analyzing the Southern Baptist political rhetoric at the individual, agency, and Convention levels after The Shift. Considering the work of H. Richard Niebuhr, I argue that Southern Baptist participation in politics can be understood as an attempt to transform culture to a biblical worldview. However, drawing from the work of Richard Hofstadter and Kenneth Burke, I argue that the Convention struggles to achieve its goal because its political rhetoric is characteristic of the paranoid style and employs scapegoating to blame others for society‘s ills. This dissertation reveals that the Southern Baptist Convention suffers from a rhetorical problem of audience. I argue that while the denomination‘s political rhetoric galvanizes its conservative base, it alienates non-religious individuals, members of other religious faiths, and even some within the Southern Baptist Convention. I conclude that in order to be a transformative agent in society, the Southern Baptist Convention‘s political rhetoric must undergo a shift in topoi that has more universal appeal. Namely, I argue that the denomination needs to return to its ―Old Rhetoric‖ and, in doing so, appeal to choice, freedom, religious liberty, free exercise, and free expression

Revealed traits: A novel method for estimating cross-cultural similarities and differences in personality

Data available at https://osf.io/wrpnk/ and supplementary tables at journal article page</p

Greenland Subglacial Discharge as a Driver of Hotspots of Increasing Coastal Chlorophyll Since the Early 2000s

Subglacial discharge emerging from the base of Greenland\u27s marine-terminating glaciers drives upwelling of nutrient-rich bottom waters to the euphotic zone, which can fuel nitrate-limited phytoplankton growth. Here, we use buoyant plume theory to quantify this subglacial discharge-driven nutrient supply on a pan-Greenland scale. The modeled nitrate fluxes were concentrated in a few critical systems, with half of the total modeled nitrate flux anomaly occurring at just 14% of marine-terminating glaciers. Increasing subglacial discharge fluxes results in elevated nitrate fluxes, with the largest flux occurring at Jakobshavn Isbræ in Disko Bay, where subglacial discharge is largest. Subglacial discharge and nitrate flux anomaly also account for significant temporal variability in summer satellite chlorophyll a (Chl) within 50 km of Greenland\u27s coast, particularly in some regions in central west and northwest Greenland

Drifting to oblivion? Rapid genetic differentiation in an endangered lizard following habitat fragmentation and drought

Aim The frequency and severity of habitat alterations and disturbance are predicted to increase in upcoming decades, and understanding how disturbance affects population integrity is paramount for adaptive management. Although rarely is population genetic sampling conducted at multiple time points, preand post-disturbance comparisons may provide one of the clearest methods to measure these impacts. We examined how genetic properties of the federally threatened Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (Uma inornata) responded to severe drought and habitat fragmentation across its range. Location Coachella Valley, California, USA. Methods We used 11 microsatellites to examine population genetic structure and diversity in 1996 and 2008, before and after a historic drought. We used Bayesian assignment methods and F-statistics to estimate genetic structure. We compared allelic richness across years to measure loss of genetic diversity and employed approximate Bayesian computing methods and heterozygote excess tests to explore the recent demographic history of populations. Finally, we compared effective population size across years and to abundance estimates to determine whether diversity remained low despite post-drought recovery. Results Genetic structure increased between sampling periods, likely as a result of population declines during the historic drought of the late 1990s–early 2000s, and habitat loss and fragmentation that precluded post-drought genetic rescue. Simulations supported recent demographic declines in 3 of 4 main preserves, and in one preserve, we detected significant loss of allelic richness. Effective population sizes were generally low across the range, with estimates ≤100 in most sites. Main conclusions Fragmentation and drought appear to have acted synergistically to induce genetic change over a short time frame. Progressive deterioration of connectivity, low Ne and measurable loss of genetic diversity suggest that conservation efforts have not maintained the genetic integrity of this species. Genetic sampling over time can help evaluate population trends to guide management

Tackling an intractable problem: can greater taxon sampling help resolve relationships within the Stenopelmatoidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera)?

The relationships among and within the families that comprise the orthopteran superfamily Stenopelmatoidea (suborder Ensifera) remain poorly understood. We developed a phylogenetic hypothesis based on Bayesian analysis of two nuclear ribosomal and one mitochondrial gene for 118 individuals (84 de novo and 34 from GenBank). These included Gryllacrididae from North, Central, and South America, South Africa and Madagascar, Australia and Papua New Guinea; Stenopelmatidae from North and Central America and South Africa; Anostostomatidae from North and Central America, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa; members of the Australian endemic Cooloola (three species); and a representative of Lezina from the Middle East. We also included representatives of all other major ensiferan families: Prophalangopsidae, Rhaphidophoridae, Schizodactylidae, Tettigoniidae, Gryllidae, Gryllotalpidae and Myrmecophilidae and representatives of the suborder Caelifera as outgroups. Bayesian analyses of concatenated sequence data supported a clade of Stenopelmatoidea inclusive of all analyzed members of Gryllacrididae, Stenopelmatidae, Anostostomatidae, Lezina and Cooloola. We found Gryllacrididae worldwide to be monophyletic, while we did not recover a monophyletic Stenopelmatidae nor Anostostomatidae. Australian Cooloola clustered in a clade composed of Australian, New Zealand, and some (but not all) North American Anostostomatidae. Lezina was included in a clade of New World Anostostomatidae. Finally, we compiled and compared karyotypes and sound production characteristics for each supported group. Chromosome number, centromere position, drumming, and stridulation differed among some groups, but also show variation within groups. This preliminary trait information may contribute toward future studies of trait evolution. Despite greater taxon sampling within Stenopelmatoidea than previous efforts, some relationships among the families examined continue to remain elusive