Rushton’s r–K life history theory of race differences in penis length and circumference examined in 113 populations

 and r–K life history theory that Mongoloids are the most K evolved, Caucasoids somewhat less K evolved, and Negroids the least K evolved is examined and extended in an analysis of data for erect penis length and circumference in two new data sets. These new data extend Rushton’s theory by presenting disaggregated data for penis size for European and North African/South Asian Caucasoids; for East Asian and Southeast Asian Mongoloids; for Inuit and Amerindians and Mestizos, and for thirteen mixed race samples. The results generally confirm and extend Rushton’s r–K life history theory.     

Personal resources at the juncture of culture and life satisfaction

This study investigates cultural group differences (Israeli Arab vs. Jewish) in personal resources and life satisfaction. Arab students evidenced lower levels of life satisfaction, as well as perceived personal resources, when compared to their Jewish counterparts. Furthermore, personal resources mediated the effects of culture on life satisfaction. The role of personal resources at the juncture of culture and life satisfaction was discussed.     

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.     

Personality and life satisfaction in China: The birth order effect under the influence of national policy

Individuals’ development is a multilayered affair. The influence of family relationship on personality, such as  and  focusing on birth order, is subject to influence from other social systems in which the families are situated. The current research examined the relation of birth order to personality and life satisfaction in China, where only children have become the majority because of national policy. Across two studies with both between-family data (N = 1468) and within-family data (N = 171), onlyborns and laterborns surpassed firstborns on openness to experience. In addition, only-child participants were more satisfied with their own lives than were sibling participants, especially laterborns. The results offer new insights into the dynamic relations between ecology and personality.     

Psychological wellbeing and the diathesis-stress hypothesis model: The role of psychological functioning and quality of relations in promoting subjective well-being in a life events study

Negative life events are associated with poor wellbeing and mental health outcomes. Following a diathesis-stress model, we tested whether psychological functioning and quality of interpersonal relationships moderated the effect of life events on subjective wellbeing. This study comprised data from a young and middle-aged adult sample (n = 364) drawn from an Australian university-student population. Results indicated that life events were associated with negative but not positive wellbeing outcomes. Perceived impact of life events was a stronger predictor of wellbeing than was the number of life events. Psychological functioning and quality of interpersonal relationships were associated with both wellbeing dimensions but only quality of interpersonal relationships moderated the effect of life events on wellbeing. In conclusion, perceived impact of life events was more strongly related to wellbeing than number of life events. Interpersonal relationships moderate the effect of life events with those reporting higher levels of quality of interpersonal relationships reporting less decrement in negative affect following stressful life events.     

The face of fluency: Semantic coherence automatically elicits a specific pattern of facial muscle reactions

This study shows that high conceptual fluency induced by hidden semantic coherence automatically triggers a specific pattern of facial expressions. In the present study, word triads that either had or had not a common remote associate were read by individuals while automatic facial responses were recorded. Although participants were ignorant about the underlying semantic structure, participants’ faces showed an activation of the smiling muscle zygomaticus major (indicating increased positive affect), a relaxation of the frowning muscle corrugator supercilii (indicating decreased negative affect and mental effort), and a relaxation of the forehead muscle frontalis (indicating increased familiarity) after reading coherent compared to incoherent word triads. Implications for intuitive judgements of semantic coherence are discussed.     

Reduced specificity of autobiographical memory as a moderator of the relationship between daily hassles and depression

Autobiographical memory biases are potential cognitive vulnerability factors for depression, with recent research highlighting the potential importance of accompanying high levels of life stress. Using a prospective design, the current study examined the role of autobiographical memory performance, both reduced specificity and propensity towards categoric memories, as moderators of the relationship between life stress and depression in a non-clinical college sample. Findings suggest that an increased propensity towards categoric recall emerged as a vulnerability factor for future depressive symptoms, with this vulnerability not being dependent upon the presence of high levels of life stress. In contrast, while reduced autobiographical memory specificity did not emerge as a vulnerability factor alone, it did emerge as a moderator of the relationship between chronic daily hassles and depression. These findings highlight the potential importance of both propensity towards categoric recall and reduced specificity of autobiographical memory as vulnerability factors for the experience of future depressive symptoms.     

Perceived social image and life satisfaction across cultures

We studied the relationship between perceived social image and life satisfaction in four different cultural groups. One-hundred nine Indian (63 females, 46 males), 67 Pakistani/Bangladeshi (36 females, 31 males), 76 White British (43 females, 33 males), and 94 European Americans (43 females, 48 males) completed measures on the cultural importance of social image, positive and negative emotions, academic achievement, and perceived social image. Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants valued social image more than White British and European-American participants. Consistent with this value difference, a positive perceived social image predicted life satisfaction among Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants only. For these participants, perceived social image predicted life satisfaction above and beyond the effects of emotions and academic achievement. Academic achievement only predicted life satisfaction among White British and European Americans. Emotions were significant predictors of life satisfaction for all participants.     

Differences in the use of autobiographical memory across the adult lifespan

Current research distinguishes between self, directive and social function of autobiographical memories (AMs). To date, only few studies have investigated these functions across adulthood. The comparison of different age groups requires that the functions of AM are measured in the same way across groups (measurement invariance, MI). Additionally to the average use of AM, the factor variances and factor covariances among the three functions were examined across adulthood. In the present study, 1290 adults (aged between 17 and 93 years) completed the Thinking about Life Experiences Questionnaire (TALE), which measures the overall use of AMs for self, directive and social purposes. The sample was divided into five age groups and partial strong MI was established using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed an increase in the factor associations as well as a decrease in the factor mean levels of all three functions across age groups. Both findings could be adequately described by linear functions of age. The factor variances were on most parts equal across age groups. These results strengthen the assumption that—from a lifespan developmental perspective—the use of AM may be aligned with relatively normative developmental tasks in a given society.     

Mechanisms of change in adolescent life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis

This study explored the psychosocial mechanisms of change associated with differences in levels and linear change of adolescents' global life satisfaction across a 2-year time period. Based on a theoretical model proposed by Evans (1994), this study tested the relations between selected personality (i.e., extraversion and neuroticism) and environmental (stressful life events) variables and global life satisfaction when mediated by internalizing and externalizing problems. The results suggested support for internalizing problems as a mediator of the relationship of personality and environmental variables with life satisfaction. Pathways mediated by internalizing problems significantly predicted levels and linear change of life satisfaction across a 2-year time span. Furthermore, pathways mediated by externalizing problems significantly predicted the level but not the linear change of life satisfaction. Thus, behavior problems and their antecedents appear to relate significantly to adolescents' perceptions of their quality of life. Implications for adolescent mental health promotion were discussed.