Strategic differentiation and integration among the 50 states of the USA

Recent studies demonstrate that individuals and populations (at the scale of nations) exhibiting slower life history (LH) speeds are more differentiated amongst themselves with respect to the components of life history. Faster life history individuals and populations are more integrated by comparison. This phenomenon, termed strategic differentiation–integration effort (SD–IE), has not yet been tested on a national scale, however, which is an important remaining step in establishing its generalizability at different levels of aggregation among humans. SD–IE was tested with data on five LH variables from the fifty states of the US. Effects supportive of the SD–IE hypothesis were found in all LH variables, with an average effect magnitude slightly larger than that found in studies of SD–IE at the individual differences level. This is putatively attributed to population stratification, due to the varied racial make-up of the population in the US, including European, African, Native American, and Asian ancestries from multiple countries. This study indicates that SD–IE is a generalizable phenomenon occurring at various levels of aggregation.     

Emotional intelligence and relationship quality among couples

To assess whether emotional intelligence (EI) is related to self‐assessed relationship quality, an ability test of EI and measures of relationship quality were administered to 86 heterosexual couples in a university setting. Results indicated that female partners were significantly higher in EI than male partners and that EI scores were uncorrelated within couples. Two 2 × 2 multiple analyses of variance (performed separately for positive and negative outcomes) assessed how relationship quality measures differed across four different types of couples (high‐EI female/high‐EI male, low‐EI female/low‐EI male, etc.). As predicted, couples with both partners low on EI tended to have the lowest scores on depth, support, and positive relationship quality and the highest scores on conflict and negative relationship quality. Counter to our hypotheses, couples with both partners high on EI did not consistently have higher scores on positive outcomes and lower scores on negative outcomes than couples with one high‐EI partner.     

Religiosity and perceived emotional intelligence among Christians

Despite copious studies relating religiosity to various psycho-social criteria, it has not been thoroughly explored in relation to emotional intelligence (EI), the ability to perceive, understand and manage emotions toward adaptive behavior. This study examined the extent to which religiosity, operationalized as religious orientation and behavior, was related to perceived EI in self-report measures among 148 church attending adult Christians. Results showed a positive correlation between intrinsic religious orientation and perceived EI, and in particular, its subcomponent emotional understanding, as well as emotional and cognitive empathy. Among behavioral measures of religiosity, only emotional understanding correlated with behavioral indices, though perceived EI overall varied significantly between groups of different levels of religious commitment, as indicated by church status and ministry service. While both attitudinal and behavioral religiosity factors were significantly predictive of perceived EI, the former proved to be more predictive than the latter. Implications of these results and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Concurrent validity of the Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence and the Kaufman brief intelligence test among psychiatric inpatients

This study examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test for 85 psychiatric inpatients. The correlation between the WASI Full Scale and K-BIT Composite IQ scores was significant (r = .89, p < .001). Multitrait-multimethod analysis of the subtest scores showed that the K-BIT had higher internal consistency for its two subtests but, therefore, less differentiation of cognitive functioning than the brief Wechsler scale, as would be expected due to the larger number and diversity of the latter subtests. Correlations among the Wechsler scale subtests were lower than among those for the K-BIT, so the former may tap different cognitive functions and yield more clinically useful information than the latter. This brief Wechsler scale appears to be a valid screening measure of verbal, performance. and general intellectual ability for use with an inpatient psychiatric population when considerations of the setting or patient preclude administration of a longer measure of intellectual ability.     

Estimating the effect of emotional intelligence in wellbeing among priests

Background/Objective: Emotional intelligence is a variable which has been the subject of significantly increased research in recent years. Relationships have been shown with both physical and psychological problems. The aim of this study is to analyse the direct and indirect effect that emotional intelligence exerts over the manifestation of physical and psychological clinical symptomatology and to severe disorders such as burnout syndrome in a professional group in which social function is fundamental. Method: So that, 881 Latin-American catholic priests (M_age = 45.89; SD_age = 11.58) were evaluated using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-22 and the General Health Questionnaire-28. Results: Using path analysis, emotional intelligence, especially Attention and Emotional Clarity, shows a high effect on psychological and somatic issues. Conclusions: Thus, both specific disorders and general well-being are related to emotional intelligence. Providing effective emotional intelligence training sessions seems to be able to reduce possible physical and emotional disorders.     

On the adaptive origins and maladaptive consequences of human inbreeding: Parasite prevalence, immune functioning, and consanguineous marriage

We propose that consanguineous marriages arise adaptively in response to high parasite prevalence and function to maintain coadapted gene complexes and associated local adaptation that defend against local pathogens. Therefore, a greater prevalence of inbreeding by consanguineous marriage is expected in geographical regions that historically have had high levels of disease-causing parasites. Eventually such marriages may, under the contemporary high movement of people with modern transportation, jeopardize the immunity of those who practice inbreeding as this leads to an increased susceptibility to novel pathogens. Therefore, a greater frequency of inbreeding is expected to predict higher levels of contemporary mortality and morbidity from infectious diseases. This parasite model of human inbreeding was supported by an analysis involving 72 countries worldwide. We found that historically high levels of pathogen prevalence were related positively to the proportion of consanguineous marriages, and that a higher prevalence of such marriages was associated with higher contemporary mortality and morbidity due to pathogens. Our study addresses plausible alternative explanations. The results suggest that consanguineous marriage is an adaptive consequence of historical pathogen ecologies, but is maladaptive in contemporary disease ecologies.     

Race, intelligence and political efficacy among school children

This paper focuses on the difference in political efficacy found between black and white pre-adults, and assesses a specific explanation of this racial difference, one that combines elements of the intelligence explanation with aspects of the social-deprivation explanation as outlined by Paul Abramson. The explanation suggests that the racial difference in feelings of political effectiveness is due to intelligence which, in turn, is basically a function of the social and economic environment. Focusing on a study of 421 black and white students, it is shown that the predictions from the theory are empirically valid. Most importantly, it is demonstrated that once intelligence is controlled for, there is little or no relationship between race and political efficacy--that is, the black and white students are approximately equal in their levels of political effectiveness. Thus the study lends empirical support to this particular explanation of the racial difference in political efficacy, and suggests, more generally, that intelligence may play a significant role in the political socialization process.     

A Pedagogy of the Parasite

Studies in Philosophy and Education - In the South Korean film, The Parasite, the underling family, in an act of desperation, uses deceptive means to infiltrate the rich family. The term parasite...     

Studies in measurement of the relations among sovereign states

This article describes the application of three psychometric methods to the problem of measurement of the friendly or hostile relations among states of the world today. To secure judgments, schedules were sent to students of international affairs at several times during the last five years. The method of equal-appearing intervals was used to determine the relative probability of war for 88 pairs of states in January, 1937; the method of triadic combinations to determine relative friendliness among the Great Powers in November, 1938; and the method of multidimensional or group rank order to measure the attitudes of important states toward the Great Powers in March and April, 1939; June, 1940; and June, 1941. A chart of scale values for the pairs of Great Powers shows the changing trends since 1937. The last two methods were used to depict the Great Powers in multidimensional space according to their mutual friendliness, thus permitting the application of a type of factor analysis. The reliability of the methods employed was high, and various types of evidence support the general validity of the results.The writer is indebted to Professors Quincy Wright, and L. L. Thurstone and Dr. M. W. Richardson, for advice at various stages in these studies.     

Comparative study of trait emotional intelligence and executive functioning among youth

This study investigated the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and executive skills (ESs), and the differences between TEI and ESs among Malaysian and Iranian youths. In this study, 226 Malaysians and 248 Iranians completed the TEIQue-SF and Executive Skills Questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested with Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicated that TEI had significant predictions on ESs, depending on cultural contexts. Significant differences were found in the effects of TEI on ESs, including emotional control, metacognition, goal-directed persistence, response inhibition, planning/prioritization, sustained attention, stress tolerance, task initiation, and working memory among Malaysian and Iranian youth. No significant difference was found in the effects of TEI on ESs, including flexibility, organization, and time management across both groups. This study makes a unique contribution to emotional intelligence and executive functioning research literature by considering several ESs at the same time for personal development and promoting healthier lives. Comparison of the effect of TEI on ESs in the Malaysian and Iranian contexts using advanced analysis methods is one of the most important methodological contributions of the study.     

Personality, intelligence and personal space among violent and non-violent delinquents

McGurk, Davis and Grehan (1981) have suggested that personality variables may have a moderating effect on the violence—personal space relationship originally reported by Kinzel (1970). Similarly, Wright (1974) has reported enhanced personal space in inmates classified as of low intelligence. The present study was undertaken in order to further investigate possible confounding effects of personality and intelligence differences on the relationship between aggressive behaviour and spatial use. A direct approach stop-distance and a semi-blind measure of personal space were obtained for a group of violent young offenders and a non-violent control group. Verbal and Non-verbal Intelligence scores and personality scores were also collected. Analysis of variance showed no significant differences in personal space size between the violent and non-violent group on any one measure. However, a significant interaction effect was found between violence, P and Non-verbal Intelligence such that violent inmates exhibited augmented personal space in relation to non-violent inmates only in the cases of those scoring both low on Non-verbal Intelligence and high on P. These findings contradict earlier research reporting a difference in spatial use between violent and non-violent Ss. It is concluded that the lack of a standardized well-controlled technique for measuring personal space has resulted in ambiguous findings in this area of research.     

Cross-national social ecology of intelligence and suicide prevalence: integration, refinement, and update of studies

This study integrates, refines, and updates previous findings pertaining to positive ecologic (population-level) associations between intelligence and suicide prevalence across nations by using corrected and revised national IQ estimates and, further, a quality-of-human-conditions index, both recently published by Lynn and Vanhanen. Across a global 85-nation sample of sex-specific total suicide rates and a Eurasian 48-nation sample of sex-specific elderly suicide rates, these were positively associated with updated national IQ estimates. The associations were stronger for the general population than for elderly persons, independent of the quality of human conditions, and notedly stronger in exponential fitting of suicide rates with national IQ than in linear fitting, thereby indicating that shifts or differences in national IQ correspond to proportional, not absolute, changes in suicide rates. Implications of these findings and the question of generalizability of such associations to the individual level are discussed.     

Emotional intelligence and aggression among South African adolescents: Preliminary evidence

We investigated gender differences in emotional intelligence and aggression among South African adolescents. Four hundred and forty-four adolescents (female =51.4 %; mean age =15.5 years, SD= 1.42 years; rural residence = 35.5%, urban residence = 65.5%) completed an emotional intelligence scale and an aggression expression survey. Exploratory independent sample t-test analysis revealed female adolescents to score higher on perception of and management of emotions than male adolescents. Female adolescents also scored higher on verbal aggression than their male peers, whereas male adolescents scored higher on physical aggression than the female adolescents.     

Home country national intelligence and self-employment rates among immigrants in Norway

The level of self-employment varies significantly among immigrants from different countries of origin. The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between home-country national intelligence and self-employment rates among first generation immigrants in Norway. Empirical secondary data on self-employment among immigrants from 117 countries residing in Norway in 2008 was used. The relevant hypothesis was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. The immigrants’ national intelligence was found to be significantly positively associated with self-employment. However, the importance of national IQ for self-employment among immigrants decreases with the duration of residence in Norway. The study concludes with practical implications and suggestions for future research.     

Intensity and prevalence of current fears among Iranian university students

The intensity and prevalence of fears were assessed in Iranian university students by applying the Fear Survey Schedule for Children, II. Analysis indicated that the intensity and prevalence of fears varied by students' sex, field of study, and birthplace. Results are discussed in relation to previous findings, and a few recommendations together with some educational implications were noted.     

The prevalence of suicidal ideation among college students

A total of 737 university students were surveyed using a psychometrically sound self-report measure of suicidal ideation. Over 43% of those participating were found to have experienced some level of suicidal ideation during the previous year. Of those found to have had suicidal thoughts, 14.9% in some way acted on those thoughts without actually making suicide attempts. An additional 5.5% were found to have made attempts on their lives. Serious suicidal ideation and actual attempts were related to several demographic traits, and implications of the results are discussed. In general, findings indicate that the problem of youth suicide may involve a greater percentage of young people than previously thought. Moreover, findings provide indirect support for the hypothesis that the difference in male-female completed suicide rates is primarily a function of the lethality of the attempts.