Tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) calling and risk-sensitive foraging in the face of threat

Individuals often produce alarm or mobbing calls when they detect a threat such as a predator. Little is known about whether such calling is affected by the facial orientation of a potential threat, however. We tested for an effect of facial orientation of a potential threat on tufted titmice, Baeolophus bicolor, a songbird that uses chick-a-dee calls in a variety of social contexts. In two studies, a human observer wore an animal mask that either faced or faced away from the focal bird(s). In Study 1, focal birds were individual titmice captured in a walk-in trap, and the observer stood near the trapped bird. In Study 2, focal birds were titmouse flocks utilizing a feeding station and the observer stood near the station. In both studies, calling behavior was affected by mask orientation. In Study 2, foraging and agonistic behavior were also affected. Titmice can therefore perceive the facial orientation of a potential threat, and this perception affects different behavioral systems, including calling. Our results indicate sensitivity of titmice to the facial orientation of a potential predator in two quite different motivational contexts. This work suggests the possibility of strategic signaling by prey species depending upon the perceptual space of a detected predator.     

Would you be happier if you moved more? Physical activity focusing illusion

Current Psychology - Research shows that individuals who are more physically active also report greater happiness. However, subjective well-being is prone to cognitive biases. For instance, people...     

Beliefs in Equality for Women and Men as Related to Economic Factors in Central and Eastern Europe and the United States

Do economic indicators predict the general level of support for gender equality? This question was investigated in a sample of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a region that has been undergoing rapid economic changes since the early 1990s. In this overall sample of male and female college students from ten countries, including the United States as a comparison, the predicted association between stronger beliefs in gender role egalitarianism and positive economic factors was generally supported. Also, consistent with other research, women were more in support of gender equality than men were. There was no support for a predicted trend in less support for gender equality over the time period of the present study.     

Solidarity in Academia and its Relationship to Academic Integrity

Journal of Academic Ethics - This paper provides the theoretical analysis of forms of solidarity in academia and its relationship to academic integrity. This analysis is inspired by the Guidelines...     

Adolescents' social strategies: patterns and correlates

An unselected sample of adolescents (n= 504) was given a test measuring their social strategies in affiliative context, and emotional and behavioral problems. Four groups of adolescents were identified according to the certain patterns of the social strategies they deployed: Active optimistic group (n= 107), Defensive functional group (n= 159), Avoiders group (n= 89), and Learned helplessness group (n= 140). The degree of stability of a cluster solution was studied when the method for cluster analysis was changed, showing that the four-cluster solution captures the essential relationships between the variables. The membership of the strategy groups was associated in theoretically meaningful ways to the anxiety/depression, withdrawal, and social problems.