Love and affectionate touch toward romantic partners all over the world

Touch is the primary way people communicate intimacy in romantic relationships, and affectionate touch behaviors such as stroking, hugging and kissing are universally observed in partnerships all over the world. Here, we explored the association of love and affectionate touch behaviors in romantic partnerships in two studies comprising 7880 participants. In the first study, we used a cross-cultural survey conducted in 37 countries to test whether love was universally associated with affectionate touch behaviors. In the second study, using a more fine-tuned touch behavior scale, we tested whether the frequency of affectionate touch behaviors was related to love in romantic partnerships. As hypothesized, love was significantly and positively associated with affectionate touch behaviors in both studies and this result was replicated regardless of the inclusion of potentially relevant factors as controls. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that affectionate touch is a relatively stable characteristic of human romantic relationships that is robustly and reliably related to the degree of reported love between partners.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Validation of the Short Version (TLS-15) of the Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45) Across 37 Languages

Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg’s 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, we developed a short version of the scale—the TLS-15—comprised of 15 items with 5-point, rather than 9-point, response scales. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided evidence for the three-factor structure of the TLS-15 and its reliability. Study 3 (N = 413) confirmed convergent validity and test–retest stability of the TLS-15. Study 4 (N = 60,311) presented a large-scale validation across 37 linguistic versions of the TLS-15 on a cross-cultural sample spanning every continent of the globe. The overall results provide support for the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural invariance of the TLS-15, which can be used as a measure of love components—either separately or jointly as a three-factor measure

Reasons for facebook usage: Data from 46 countries

Seventy-nine percent of internet users use Facebook, and on average they access Facebook eight times a day (Greenwood et al., 2016). To put these numbers into perspective, according to Clement (2019), around 30% of the world\u2019s population uses this Online Social Network (OSN) site. Despite the constantly growing body of academic research on Facebook (Chou et al., 2009; Back et al., 2010; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; McAndrew and Jeong, 2012; Wilson et al., 2012; Krasnova et al., 2017), there remains limited research regarding the motivation behind Facebook use across different cultures. Our main goal was to collect data from a large cross-cultural sample of Facebook users to examine the roles of sex, age, and, most importantly, cultural differences underlying Facebook use

Affective interpersonal touch in close relationships: a cross-cultural perspective

Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch

Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large-scale replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries

Evaluation of conservation value of extensively used grasslands in Bela krajina based on species richness of butterflies and wild orchids

V magistrski nalogi smo raziskovali pestrost dnevnih metuljev in kukavičevk na 15 ekstenzivnih travnikih v Beli krajini. Zaradi dobre raziskanosti dnevne metulje in kukavičevke uporabljamo kot bioindikatorje ohranjenosti okolja. Njihova številčnost v Evropi v zadnjem obdobju drastično upada, saj so tako eni kot drugi zelo občutljivi na spremembe v okolju. Med drugim jih ogrožajo intenziviranje kmetijstva, prepogosta košnja in klimatske spremembe. Skupno smo popisali 70 vrst dnevnih metuljev, med katerimi je 11 ogroženih, štiri pa so zavarovane. Na podlagi vrstne pestrosti metuljev in kukavičevk smo naravovarstveno ovrednotili posamezne lokacije. Potrdili smo delno pozitivno korelacijo vrstne pestrosti dnevnih metuljev od dolžine roba lokacije in gozdnega roba lokacije. Za vrstno pestrost dnevnih metuljev in kukavičevk je ključno ohranjanje ekstenzivnih travnikov s prilagojenim gospodarjenjem – z akcijskimi načrti, izvajanjem monitoringa in izboljšanjem upravljanja njihovega habitata.In our study we investigated the biodiversity of the butterflies and orchids on 15 extensive grasslands in the region Bela krajina, Slovenia. Butterflies and orchids are used as biodiversity indicators because of their fast response to changes in agricultural practices. Their populations have declined drastically due to their sensitivity to the environmental changes. They are threatened due to intensive agriculture, forestation, climate changes, etc. Altogether we documented 70 species of butterflies, of which 11 were endangered and four were protected in Slovenia. Conservation value of each site based on presence of threatened species and total number of species of butterflies and orchids was calculated. We confirmed a weak positive correlation between butterfly species diversity and the length of the edge of the location and percentage of the forest edge. Adjusted management of extensive grasslands is crucial for butterfly and orchid diversity conservation including action plans, monitoring and better management of endangered species habitats

Evaluation of conservation value of extensively used grasslands in Bela krajina based on species richness of butterflies and wild orchids

In our study we investigated the biodiversity of the butterflies and orchids on 15 extensive grasslands in the region Bela krajina, Slovenia. Butterflies and orchids are used as biodiversity indicators because of their fast response to changes in agricultural practices. Their populations have declined drastically due to their sensitivity to the environmental changes. They are threatened due to intensive agriculture, forestation, climate changes, etc. Altogether we documented 70 species of butterflies, of which 11 were endangered and four were protected in Slovenia. Conservation value of each site based on presence of threatened species and total number of species of butterflies and orchids was calculated. We confirmed a weak positive correlation between butterfly species diversity and the length of the edge of the location and percentage of the forest edge. Adjusted management of extensive grasslands is crucial for butterfly and orchid diversity conservation including action plans, monitoring and better management of endangered species habitats

Biology and endargement of Fenton´s wood white in Slovenia

The diploma thesis consists of a synopsis of the biology of the Fenton’s Wood White (Leptidea morsei), its distribution in Slovenia, the reasons for its decline in distribution and recomendations for the conservation of this species. The Fenton’s Wood inhabits clearings at the sunny edges of forests and clearings in deciduous and mixed forests. It is one of the most endangered butterflies in Europe. In Slovenia its development is linked to the plant Lathyrus niger, as the female lays the eggs on this plant. Its existence is threatened primarily by the changing forest management, early mowing and harvesting of herbal vegetation, habitat fragmentation and climate change. Using the collected data from three time periods (until 1990, between 1990 and 2005, and after 2005), we investigated the actual distribution and range of the species in Slovenia. The Fenton’s Wood White`s full distribution area in Slovenia is in the regions of Kočevje, Bela krajina, Suha krajina, Gorjanci, Krško, Bizeljsko, Podravje, river Kolpa valley and the soughtern parts of Posavje region. The results showed that the range of the species is decreasing. In contrast, to these results the data collected from Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora suggests that the actual distribution is increasing. The reason for this putative increase is linked to bigger effort in mapping of the species distribution; consequently, more information is available. Endangerment could be reduced by reforming the forest management. The key measure is to maintain enough forest areas where there are sufficient clearings, since the clearings are the natural habitat of the plant Lathyrus niger. Another essential factor is that the first mowing of the herbal vegetation alongside forest edges should be moved to September. Since butterflies represent an indispensable part of the ecosystem it is imperative to make an effort to welcome these measurements and enable this butterfly species to survive