Where birds flock to get together: The who,what, where,and why of mate searching

An understudied area of personality psychology is how personality traits might facilitate structuring of one’s environment toward goals like mating. In four studies (N = 1325), we examined (1) self-reports of where individuals go to find long-term and short-term mates, (2) how personality traits are associated with the use of these locations, and (3) how the sexes differ in their selection of mate search locations. Men were more likely than women were to use short-term (e.g., bars) than long-term (e.g., community events) niches, but did not differ in success in those niches and agreed on the nature of those niches. Slow life history traits, conscientiousness and agreeableness, were linked to preferences for long-term niches whereas, fast life history traits, narcissism and dishonesty, were linked to preferences for short-term mating niches.     

Gender difference in emotional reactions and sexual coercion in casual sexual relations: An evolutionary perspective

This study tested four predictions derived from (evolutionary) sexual conflict theory. The central hypothesis was that men and women possess different emotional mechanisms that motivate and evaluate sexual activities. Women’s mechanisms are associated with their perception of partners’ ability and willingness to invest. For men these associations are weaker or inverse. Regression analyses of survey data from 194 college students revealed the following. As incidence of casual sexual relations increased (SOI Behavior), men reported less concern about partners’ intentions and less Worry–Vulnerability in response to casual sexual relations than women did; these gender interactions were significant. Regular sexual relations with partners with whom they did not desire emotional involvement showed the same pattern of gender differences. The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) measured the incidence of sexual coercion in casual sexual relations. For women, but not for men, SOI Behavior was associated with all levels of sexual coercion. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by gender and age in Angola

Subjective well-being is a research arena that has grown almost exponentially: over the last 20 years, the number of publications on subjective well-being has increased approximately 16-fold (Diener, 2009). The cognitive aspect of subjective well-being or life satisfaction is referred to a conscious cognitive judgment of life (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin 1985), in which person’s quality of life is globally assessed (Shin & Johnson, 1978). The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS, Diener et al., 1985) is the most widely used instrument for its measurement. A reliable, valid and invariant measurement is critical for meaningful comparisons. The aim of this study is to examine the configural, metric and scalar invariance across age in the Portuguese version of the SWLS with a sample of 5630 Angolans. A standard measurement invariance procedure has been applied both across gender and age. Results shown that scalar invariance of the SWLS held across gender and age. This strong invariance allowed for meaningful latent mean comparisons. There were latent mean differences due to gender and age, but while gender differences were modest, the age differences were larger. Results are discussed in their relation with existing literature.     

Why Do You Make Us Feel Good? Correlates and Interpersonal Consequences of Affective Presence in Speed‐dating

Recent research indicates that people consistently make others feel a certain way (e.g. happy or stressed). This individual difference has been termed affective presence, but little is known about its correlates or consequences. The present study investigated the following: (i) whether affective presence influences others' romantic interest in a person and (ii) what types of people have positive and negative affective presence. Forty volunteers took part in a speed‐dating event, during which they dated six or seven opposite‐sex partners. A Social Relations Model analysis confirmed that individuals prompted consistent positive emotional reactions in others. Participants were more likely to want to see dates with greater positive affective presence again in the future, and positive affective presence explained the effects of perceived responsiveness on romantic interest. Associations between positive affective presence and trait predictors, including emotion regulation, emotional expressiveness, attachment style, agreeableness and extraversion, were also observed. The findings indicate that what emotionally distinguishes one individual from another lies in part in the emotional consequences of their behaviours on others. © 2013 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.     

Sex Differences in Variability in Vocational Interests: Evidence from Two Large Samples

Greater male variability has been established in cognitive abilities and physical attributes. This study investigated sex differences in variability in vocational interests with two large samples (N > 40 000 and N > 70 000). The results show that although men varied more in Realistic and Enterprising interests, women varied more in Artistic and Conventional interests. These differences in variability had considerable influence on the female–male tail ratios in vocational interests that have been found to contribute to reported gender disparities in certain fields of work and academic disciplines. Moreover, differences in means and variability interacted non‐linearly in shaping tail‐ratio imbalances. An age‐specific analysis additionally revealed that differences in variability diminished with age: Older samples showed smaller differences in variance in Realistic, Artistic, and Social interests than younger samples. Thus, I found no evidence that greater male variability applies for vocational interests in general. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Muslim Experiential Religiousness in Pakistan: Meaning in Life,General Well-Being and gender differences

This study examined relationships of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology in Pakistan. In a sample of 200 university students and community members, the spirituality of Muslim Experiential Religiousness displayed direct linkages with Meaning in Life and General Well-Being subscales. Muslim Experiential Religiousness also correlated positively with single-item assessments of the Intrinsic, Extrinsic Personal, and Extrinsic Social Religious Orientations and explained the relationships of these religious motivations with General Life Satisfaction. Women scored higher than men on Muslim Experiential Religiousness, but at least some linkages of Muslim spirituality with positive psychology were more robust in men. As in other recent investigations, these data confirmed Muslim Experiential Religiousness as a valid index of Muslim spirituality beyond the Iranian cultural context in which it was developed.     

Spatial knowledge acquisition from direct experience in the environment: individual differences in the development of metric knowledge and the integration of separately learned places

Existing frameworks for explaining spatial knowledge acquisition in a new environment propose either stage-like or continuous development. To examine the spatial microgenesis of individuals, a longitudinal study was conducted. Twenty-four college students were individually driven along two routes in a previously unfamiliar neighborhood over 10 weekly sessions. Starting Session 4, they were also driven along a short connecting route. After each session, participants estimated spatial properties of the routes. Some participants' knowledge improved fairly continuously over the sessions, but most participants either manifested accurate metric knowledge from the first session or never manifested accurate metric knowledge. Results are discussed in light of these large individual differences, particularly with respect to the accuracy and development of integrated configurational knowledge.     

Sexual Attitudes and Instructional Set Affect Estimates of Risk and Response Effectiveness

Two hundred and eleven undergraduate men and women were assigned to different instructional set conditions and asked to rate (1) the sexual risk depicted in a set of written items describing problem situations undergraduate women might face when dating or interacting socially with men, and (2) the effectiveness of responses to these situations, described by a set of response codes. Results revealed that sexual attitudes and instructional set were the strongest predictors of both ratings. Gender did, however, predict risk ratings for stranger and authority figure situations, with women rating these situations as more risky than men. In addition, women assigned to the risk instructional set condition rated refusal responses as more effective in decreasing risk than did men in the same condition. In contrast, women assigned to the popularity instructional set condition rated the same refusal responses as less effective in increasing popularity than did men in that condition.

Episodic chasing in pathological gamblers using the Iowa gambling task

"Chasing ones losses" is a key symptom among pathological gamblers (PGs). This study focuses on quantitative differences in episodic chasing (i.e., sequences of disadvantageous decisions within a single gambling session) between PGs and non-pathological gamblers (NPGs). We compared 61 PGs and 39 NPGs on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). The PGs showed significantly more chasing and had significantly poorer decision-making strategies than NPGs, particularly among males (F = 4.52, p < 0.05). Random players were significantly less sensation seeking than advantageous and disadvantageous (i.e., chasing) players, but there was no interaction with group or gender. The results suggest that quantifiable within-session gambling behavior holds important implications for detecting underlying vulnerabilities to gambling pathology.