Knowing your audience affects male–male interactions in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)

Aggressive interactions between animals often occur in the presence of third parties. By observing aggressive signalling interactions, bystanders may eavesdrop and gain relevant information about conspecifics without the costs of interacting. On the other hand, interactants may also adjust their behaviour when an audience is present. This study aimed to test how knowledge about fighting ability of an audience affects aggressive interactions in male Siamese fighting fish. Subjects were positioned between two dyads of non-interacting males and allowed to observe both dyads shortly before the view to one of the dyads was blocked, and the dyads were allowed to interact. Subjects were subsequently exposed to an unknown opponent in the presence of either the winner or the loser of the seen or unseen interaction. The results suggest a complex role of the characteristic of an audience in the agonistic behaviours of a subject engaged in an interaction. The presence of a seen audience elicited more aggressive displays towards the opponent if the audience was a loser. This response was different in the presence of an unseen audience. Subjects then directed a higher aggressiveness against their opponent if the audience was a winner. These results also suggest a potentially more complex and interesting process allowing individuals to gain information about the quality and threat level of an unknown audience while it is interacting with a third party. The importance of information acquisition for an individual to adapt its behaviour and the role of communication networks in shaping social interactions are discussed.     

Power implications of touch in male—Female relationships

Nancy Henley argues that nonreciprocal touch in male—female relations is used by men as a status reminder to keep women in their place. This study examines Henley's argument by exposing 60 observers to photographs of male—female interactions and asking them to rate the pictured actors on the degree to which each dominates the interaction. The interactions differ across two dimensions: status differences evident in the age and dress of the participants (female higher vs. equal vs. male higher) and who is touching whom (female toucher vs. no toucher vs. male toucher). Results of the study support but qualify the status reminder argument. Nonreciprocal touch reduces the perceived power of the person being touched whether the high-status or the low-status person is doing the touching and whether the man or the woman is being touched. Thus, nonreciprocal touch can be used by high-status men to remind lower-status women of their subordinate positions. But it can also be used by lower status women to undermine the status claims of higher status men. In the equal status interactions, nonreciprocal touch does not alter power perceptions as systematically. This finding suggests that without other status cues evident in the relationship, touch alone is insufficient to establish a power advantage for either party.     

Perceived motivational climate in male youth soccer: relations to social–moral functioning,sportspersonship and team norm perceptions

Aim: To investigate the relationship between the perceived motivational climate, sportspersonship, social–moral functioning and team norms in a sample of young male Norwegian soccer players.Hypotheses: It was expected that a performance-oriented motivational climate would be associated with lower levels of social–moral functioning, sportspersonship and the perceptions of team norms that would approve of illegitimate behaviours in soccer. By contrast, a mastery-oriented climate was hypothesised to be beneficial with respect to social–moral functioning, sporstspersonship and morally constructive team norm perceptions.Method: A cross-sectional study of 279 male soccer players (aged 12–14 years) taking part in the international youth soccer tournament, The Norway Cup, was conducted in which players responded to a questionnaire measuring different dimensions of social–moral functioning, including moral judgements, priority for more mature social–moral motives or reasons faced with moral dilemmas, amoral and sportspersonship behaviours and team norm perceptions.Results: Canonical correlation analysis coupled with multivariate analysis of variance showed that players who perceived the motivational climate as predominantly mastery oriented reported more mature levels of social–moral reasoning and better sportspersonhip behaviours. These players were also less apt to report amoral behaviour and perceive team norms as strongly disapproving of pro-aggressiveness. In contrast, players perceiving the motivational climate as predominantly performance-oriented were more apt to report amoral behaviours in soccer and were less likely to express sportspersonship behaviour.Conclusions: The findings illustrate the importance of studying motivational conditions in order to provide an understanding of social–moral functioning, sportspersonship and social–moral team norms in youth soccer.     

Predictors of multiple concurrent and multiple sexual partnerships among male and female youth aged 18–24 in South Africa

This study aimed to determine predictors of multiple concurrent and multiple sexual partnerships among South African male and female youth. Data were from a cross-sectional population-based household survey of 3 123 youths aged 18 to 24 years from four South African provinces (males = 53.6%, blacks = 97.8%). Results from a sub-sample of being sexually active in the past 12 months (n = 1787) indicate that 5.3% (7.1% in males and 3.1% in females) youth participants had multiple concurrent sexual partners, and 38.8% (50.1% in males and 25.8% in females) had had two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months. Among females, multiple concurrent partnerships were only predicted by lower social network resources. Predictors of multiple sexual partnerships (two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months) among males included high HIV risk perception, never been tested for HIV and hazardous or harmful alcohol use. By contrast, among females, high peer pressure, lower education and ever having taken drugs predicted involvement with multiple sexual partners. Multi-level health promotion interventions are indicated for sexual behaviour change among South African youth.     

Differences in male and female patterns of communication in groups: A methodological artifact?

This study investigated communication patterns in an all-male, all-female, and mixed-sex group. All participants were white and middle class. These groups met for longer periods of time than those in most previous studies that reported differences between men and women in task and maintenance communication patterns. Most previous research investigations were based on groups that met for an hour or less and used unacquainted undergraduates. In this study, no significant differences were found in seven categories of verbal input. While there were no significant differences, the typical pattern reported in the literature was present in the first 30–60 minutes of the groups. After that time period, no consistent patterns were noted, and stereotypic sex differences vanished. This has led the authors to tentatively conclude that the findings of previous research may be due to the limited time period used in most investigations. Men and women did not differ on task and maintenance input, or other categories of verbal input, in groups meeting for 4 1/2 hours or 6 hours.     

Are sex-role attitudes useful in explaining male/female differences in rates of depression?

This study used an untreated sample of husbands and wives to investigate the effect of a wife's employment status on her spouse's depression score. A consistency between attitudes toward appropriate sex-role behavior and actual situation was expected to enhance mental well-being. Data demonstrate that when a measure of sex-role attitudes was paired with situation, it was a significant indicator of depression scores for unemployed females. Housewives with liberal views toward sex roles felt more restricted and were more depressed than were traditional housewives. Sex-role orientation was not effective in explaining depression scores for working wives or for husbands in the sample. The findings emphasize the necessity for examining the impact of sex-role orientation on depression both by sex and by situation.     

Coparenting in the Context of Mother–Father–Infant versus Mother–Grandmother–Infant Triangular Interactions in Turkey

In this report, coparenting behaviors during triangular interactions among families raising a 3-month-old infant in Turkey are examined. Given the significant role played by extended family members in Turkish culture, coparenting dynamics were examined as mothers and babies played together with grandmothers, as well as together with fathers. Forty-five families took part, and 42 father–mother–baby and 33 grandmother–mother–baby triangular interactions of approximately 10?min in length were filmed during the Lausanne Trilogue Play. From videotapes of the interactions, individual and mutual coparenting behaviors were evaluated using the Coparenting and Family Rating System: 3 Month Adaptation (CFRS3M). Results indicated that while mothers’ own parenting behavior when in the LTP role of Active Parent (AP) was comparable whether with fathers or grandmothers, their behavior when in the LTP role of third party parent (TPP) was comparatively more engaged while with fathers than while with grandmothers. Fathers were comparatively less engaged when occupying the TPP role than were mothers in the TPP role, while grandmothers showed more flirting and distracting behavior in the TPP role than did either fathers or mothers. These findings are significant in documenting meaningful distinctions in Turkish grandmothers’ as well as in Turkish fathers’ and mothers’ coparenting propensities when engaging in triangular interactions with babies during the LTP.     

Do representations of male muscularity differ in men's and women's magazines?

Men overestimate the degree of muscularity that is attractive to women, and women overestimate the degree of thinness that is most attractive to men. Consistent with the thesis that sociocultural input influences such body type preferences and beliefs, we postulated that magazines aimed at a male audience would portray a more muscular male body ideal than would magazines aimed at a female audience. Systematic comparison of popular magazines (Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness) revealed that the ideal male body marketed to men is more muscular than the ideal male body marketed to women. We introduce the Physical Trait Overvaluation Hypothesis, which proposes that gender-specific media fuel emphasis on certain body parts in within-gender prestige competitions. The resulting competitive escalation creates a disconnect between the preferences of one gender and the personal aspirations of the other.     

Phonon–phason coupling in a Mg–Ga–Al–Zn icosahedral quasicrystal

Precise X-ray diffraction measurements have revealed that phonon (conventional) strain is introduced at the phase transition from an icosahedral quasicrystal to its orthorhombic crystal approximant in a Mg–Ga–Al–Zn alloy. From the magnitude of the measured phonon strain, the phonon–phason coupling constant has been evaluated. This constant is approximately ?0.03μ (μ: shear modulus) and it is in good agreement with the result of a theoretical calculation reported previously (W.-J. Zhu and C.L. Henley, Europhys. Lett. 46 748 (1999)). This is the first study that experimentally evaluates the phonon–phason coupling constant in any existing quasicrystalline phase.     

Ethical Conflicts in Commercialization of University Research in the Post–Bayh–Dole Era

Protection of intellectual property as well as its exploitation for monetary benefit have existed for centuries. However, commercialization of intellectual property had not entered the precincts of academic universities in a significant way until the introduction of the Bayh–Dole Act in the 1980s in the United States. The post–Bayh–Dole era has seen a quantitative increase in patenting activity in universities. This article summarizes the ethical conflicts ushered in by increasing commercialization of academic university research. Activities related to the protection and commercial exploitation of intellectual property have led to changes in academic culture that have given room for debate between the puritans and the modernists. Issues contended by the two groups have been identified, and both sides of the argument are discussed. The key to achieving “responsible commercialization of research” is to balance the Bayh–Dole ethos with the traditional Mertonian norms of academic research.     

Changes in teacher–student relationships

Background. Although teacher–student relationships lie at the heart of students’ schooling experience, fundamental questions regarding these relationships remain unanswered. Aims. This study investigates three related questions about these relationships: To what extent do they change from the beginning to the end of a school year? Are any emergent changes associated with shifts in students’ academic or motivational outcomes? Are certain ‘upstream’ factors associated with improvements or declines in teacher–student relationships? Sample. We investigate these questions with a sample of middle school students (N = 119) and their teachers (N = 30). Methods. Through a novel approach which accounts for both perspectives within teacher–student relationships, we assess these relationships at the beginning and end of the school year. Using multi-level models, we examine how changes in these relationships are associated with changes in students’ grades, homework completion rates, self-efficacy, and effort. In addition, we examine associations with two potential precursors to teacher–student relationships: students’ accuracy in taking their teachers’ perspective and their perceptions of similarity to their teachers. Results. We find that substantial changes occur in these relationships from the beginning to the end of the year; these changes are associated with shifts in important student outcomes; and changes in students’ social perspective taking accuracy and perceived similarity to their teachers correspond with changes in teacher–student relationships. Conclusions. Given the malleability of teacher–student relationships and their importance for key achievement and motivational outcomes, we advocate for researchers to conduct field experiments to inform how to improve these critical relationships.     

Recrystallization in a low-density low-alloy Fe–Mn–Al–C duplex-phase alloy

The recrystallization behaviour of a cold-rolled, low-density, low-alloy duplex-phase alloy (Fe–6.57Al–3.34Mn–0.18C, wt.%) has been studied. Temperature-resolved X-ray diffraction and dilatometry showed that the alloy recrystallizes at 850?°C during continuous heating. However, electron back-scattered diffraction investigations using Kernel average misorientation revealed that during annealing ferrite recrystallizes at lower temperatures while austenite remains strained up to 1200?°C. This study underlines the complexity of recrystallization of a microstructure comprising of constituents with high and low stacking fault energy.     

Renunciation feminised? Joint renunciation of female–male pairs in Bengali Vaishnavism

The Indic category of renunciation is generally constructed in radical opposition to that of householder/worldly life (saḿsāra), by actors and analysts alike. Yet, as an institution, renunciation is also traditionally modelled on householder structures. It is created through an idiom of ‘birth’ into patrilines, albeit generated through ‘guru’ rather than ‘blood’ lineages. These contrary facets of renunciation feature in the unusual Bengali Vaishnava phenomenon of joint renunciation of a female–male pair. On the one hand joint renunciation is ostensibly a matter of death to one (householder) patriline and of birth into another (renouncer) patriline. In this sense it is a male-oriented phenomenon, replicating householder structures. On the other hand Vaishnava renouncers also construct renunciation in opposition to householder life, that is, in terms of liminality and transcendence of categories. These characteristics are in turn identified as ‘female’ and are associated with a high valuation of women. Renunciation has often been considered a conservative or marginal force in South Asian society, although a few scholars have argued for its radical potential among subaltern groups. Studies of female renouncers have shown that the price of greater autonomy conferred by renunciation is often the virtual denial of ‘womanhood’ itself. My intention here is to highlight a shift in balance, in which renunciation is feminised in significant respects, with potentially liberating results for women. This suggests indigenous sources for ideas of gender equality or even female superiority, normally assumed to be of ‘Western’ provenance.     

Longitudinal patterns of change in eye–hand coordination in children aged 8–16 years

Enhanced eye–hand coordination (EHC) is associated with greater participation in physical activity. No longitudinal studies have examined the change in throw–catch EHC from childhood to mid-adolescence. We investigated the development of EHC with an object control test from childhood to mid-adolescence in boys and girls. Evaluated at age 8, 10, 12 and 16 years, EHC was measured as the aggregate success rate of a throw and wall-rebound catch test. The test involved 40 attempts of progressive increasing difficulty, as determined by increased distances from a wall and transitions from two-handed to one-handed catches. Outcomes were treated as quasi-binomial and modelled by generalised linear mixed logistic regression analysis. EHC improved with age from childhood to mid-adolescence, although boys were more adept at each age (p < 0.001). The patterns of change in EHC with increasing age varied according to the degree of difficulty of the task (p < 0.001); throw and two-handed catch proficiency developing earlier than throw and one-handed catch in both sexes. Boys’ EHC was better than girls’ as early as age 8 years and male proficiency was maintained through to mid-adolescence. The proficiency of throw and two-handed catch rates developed faster than throw and one-handed catch rates for both sexes.     

A model of amygdala–hippocampal–prefrontal interaction in fear conditioning and extinction in animals

Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus in classical conditioning to include interactions with the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We apply the model to fear conditioning, in which animals learn physiological (e.g. heart rate) and behavioral (e.g. freezing) responses to stimuli that have been paired with a highly aversive event (e.g. electrical shock). The key feature of our model is that learning of these conditioned responses in the central nucleus of the amygdala is modulated by two separate processes, one from basolateral amygdala and signaling a positive prediction error, and one from the vmPFC, via the intercalated cells of the amygdala, and signaling a negative prediction error. In addition, we propose that hippocampal input to both vmPFC and basolateral amygdala is essential for contextual modulation of fear acquisition and extinction. The model is sufficient to account for a body of data from various animal fear conditioning paradigms, including acquisition, extinction, reacquisition, and context specificity effects. Consistent with studies on lesioned animals, our model shows that damage to the vmPFC impairs extinction, while damage to the hippocampus impairs extinction in a different context (e.g., a different conditioning chamber from that used in initial training in animal experiments). We also discuss model limitations and predictions, including the effects of number of training trials on fear conditioning.     

Dislocations in basic-nickel decagonal Al–Ni–Co single quasicrystals

We present a study of dislocations in decagonal Al₇₀Ni₂₁Co₉ quasicrystals by means of diffraction contrast analysis as well as convergent-beam electron diffraction in the transmission electron microscope. The nickel-rich Al–Ni–Co quasicrystals show diffraction patterns characteristic of the basic-nickel decagonal phase exhibiting almost no diffuse scattering. We succeeded in growing this phase in the form of large single quasicrystals. The two-beam bright-field images show a homogeneous background and no striation contrast as reported for other Al–Ni–Co decagonal phases. We have, for the first time in a two-dimensional quasicrystal, observed the weak contrast-extinction condition.     

Validation of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version with male intimate partner violence offenders

The working alliance is a key element to increase intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders’ motivation, adherence to treatment, and active participation in batterer intervention programs (BIPs). The objective of the present study is to assess the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Short Version (WAI-O-S) with a sample of IPV offenders. The sample was 140 men convicted for IPV and court-mandated to a community-based BIP. Inter-rater agreement and reliability were evaluated by computing the intraclass correlation coefficient. To test the latent structure a Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis approach was used. To test criterion-related validity, the WAI-O-S factorial scores were correlated to protherapeutic behavior, stage of change and motivation to change. The WAI-O-S showed an adequate reliability. Results from Bayesian confirmatory factor analyses showed two first-order factors (Bond and Agreement), and a second-order factor (General working alliance) explaining the relationship between the first-order factors. Results also support the validity of this instrument. The availability of reliable and valid observational measure of the working alliance provides a useful tool to overcome self-report measurement limitations such as social desirability, deception, and denial among IPV offenders.     

Are apparent sex differences in mean IQ scores created in part by sample restriction and increased male variance?

This study investigated the possibility that apparent sex differences in IQ are at least partly created by the degree of sample restriction from the baseline population. We used a nationally representative sample, the 1970 British Cohort Study. Sample sizes varied from 6518 to 11,389 between data-collection sweeps. Principal components analysis of scores obtained on four cognitive tests administered at age 10 was used to obtain estimates that we name ‘IQ’. These age-10 scores were then used to estimate the sex differences at age 10, and also among participants in the two later waves, at age 26 and 30. At age 10, there was a small but significant advantage for boys (Cohen’s d = 0.081). Boys had greater variability in these IQ scores. We then investigated how this very small male advantage at 10 changed with sample restriction. We used the same IQs obtained at age 10, but considered only those subjects who returned for data-collection sweeps at ages 26 and 30 years. Subjects returning at age 26 and 30 were more likely to be females and to have higher age-10 IQ scores. Attrition at age 30 was 28% and the male advantage in IQ scores increased by 15%. Attrition at age 26 was 43% and the male advantage in IQ scores increased by 48%. The findings underline the importance of monitoring attrition in longitudinal studies, as well as emphasising the need for representative samples in studying sex differences in intelligence. A proportion of the apparent male advantage in general cognitive ability that has been reported by some researchers might be attributable to the combination of greater male variance in general cognitive ability and sample restriction, though this remains to be tested in a sample with an appropriate mental test battery.