A Critical Test of the Waist-to-Hip Ratio Hypothesis of Women's Physical Attractiveness in Britain and Greece

Body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have been reported to be the major cues to women's bodily attractiveness. The relative importance of each of these cues was examined cross-culturally in two distinct countries, Greece and Britain. Fifty Britons, 25 British-Greeks, and 25 participants in Greece were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. The results showed that, regardless of the cultural setting, BMI is the primary determinant of women's physical attractiveness, whereas WHR emerged as a significant predictor for the Greek groups but not the British group. This finding is discussed in terms of the different gender roles occupied by Britons and Greeks. The discussion critically evaluates evolutionary psychological and sociocultural explanations of preferences for body weight.     

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and Cattell's personality traits

The ratio between second and fourth finger (2D:4D) is sexually dimorphic; it is lower in men than in women. Studies using broad personality domains yielded correlations of 2D:4D with neuroticism, extraversion or agreeableness, but the obtained results have been inconsistent. We correlated 2D:4D of 184 women and 101 men with their scores in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire. We found women with a higher (more ‘feminine’) right hand 2D:4D to score lower in emotional stability and social boldness and higher in privateness. Mediator analysis showed emotional stability to be probably primarily correlated with 2D:4D and to act as a mediator between 2D:4D and social boldness. Privateness appears to be mediated by an even more complex path. We discuss the usefulness of primary‐level personality questionnaires and mediator analyses in the investigation of psycho‐morphological associations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

人口性别比例失衡对人类行为的影响

男女比例协调本是自然进化的规律。可在我国, 人口性别比例失调的现象日趋严重, 深入理解这一现象对社会产生何种影响已经成为一件刻不容缓的工作。进化心理学和社会人口学这两个领域近年来分别开展了一系列与此问题相关的研究, 从性选择、择偶、婚姻、亲本投资、暴力行为和经济行为六个方面全面研究人口性别比例对人类行为的影响。     

心理学视野下的面孔宽长比研究

面孔宽长比（fWHR）是指面孔宽度与长度（或高度）之间的比值。它是一种反映男性青春期睾酮分泌水平高低的面部结构,并被视为男性气质的评价指标。多项研究表明,fWHR与攻击、支配、冒险、欺骗、追求个体成就等男性气质行为相关。本文对该领域研究成果进行了详细述评,并指出未来研究可在性别差异、影响机制、跨文化研究等方面加以探讨。     

中国人群脂肪肝主要影响因素的荟萃分析

为系统评价中国居民脂肪肝发病的主要危险因素,检索文献数据库,收集国内1997年～2008年有关脂肪肝发病危险因素的16篇文献,利用Meta分析方法,进行综合统计分析,累计病例7 200例.对照11 884例.结果超重(23≤BMI<25)、肥胖(BMl≥25)、过量饮酒、吸烟、高脂饮食、食用蔬菜、饮绿茶、爱好运动、运动少、高脂血症、高HDL-Ch、低HDL-Ch、高血压、高血糖、高血总胆固醇(≥6.5mmol/L)及糖尿病合并0R值(95%CI)分别为1.68(0.68～3.90)、5.01(3.23～7.76)、3.52(1.52～8.15)、1.18(1.01～1.37)、2.82(1.50～5.31)、0.45(0.37～0.55)、0.52(0.43～0.64)、0.32(0.14～0.74)、3.49(1.26～9.65)、4.91(2.69～8.96)、0.31(0.17～0.57)、2.14(1.50～3.03)、2.19(1.43～3.35)、2.75(1.66～4.58)、2.96(0.26～32.98)、2.29(1.30～4.01).结论为目前影响中国人群脂肪肝发生的危险因素依次为肥胖、高脂血症、饮酒、运动少、高脂饮食、高血糖、糖尿病、高血压、低HDL-Ch和吸烟;保护因素为饮用绿茶,食用蔬菜,以及高HDL-ch;尚不能确定与中国人脂肪肝发生的相关性因素为超重和高血胆固醇.     

优、差生组织策略水平的比较研究

本文比较了初一年级优、差生在词表记忆中的组织策略水平的差异,结果表明：１、初一年级优、差生都还没能自发地运用组织策略,优生只在非典型项目的记忆中群集水平明显优于差生,优、差生的群集水平和记忆成绩之间不存在一一对应的关系。２、在典型或非典型项目的记忆中,记忆成绩和知识背景都有着非常显著的正相关。     

Fixed-ratio performance with and without a postreinforcement timeout

Pigeons pecked a key, producing food reinforcement on fixed-ratio (FR) schedules requiring 50, 100, or 150 responses. In each session, 30-second timeouts were inserted before a random half of the FR trials, whereas the other trials began immediately after reinforcement. In general, preratio pauses were shorter on trials preceded by timeouts. On these trials, the probability of a first response tended to be highest in the first 20 seconds of the trials, suggesting that the shorter pauses were the result of transient behavioral contrast. Direct observations and analyses of interresponse times (IRTs) after the preratio pause indicated that IRTs could be grouped into three categories: (1) IRTs of about .1 second, which were produced by small head movements in the vicinity of the key; (2) IRTs of about .3 second, which were produced by distinct pecking motions; and (3) IRTs greater than .5 second, which were accompanied by pausing or movements away from the key. At all ratio sizes, as a subject progressed through a trial, the probability of a long IRT decreased, whereas the probability of an intermediate IRT usually increased at first and then decreased. The probability of a short IRT increased monotonically across a trial. The results show that responding changes systematically as a subject progresses through a ratio on an FR schedule. Some characteristics of performance varied as functions of the absolute size of the response requirement, whereas others appeared to depend on the relative location within a ratio (i.e., the proportion of the ratio completed at a given moment).     

Matching, maximizing, and hill-climbing

In simple situations, animals consistently choose the better of two alternatives. On concurrent variable-interval variable-interval and variable-interval variable-ratio schedules, they approximately match aggregate choice and reinforcement ratios. The matching law attempts to explain the latter result but does not address the former. Hill-climbing rules such as momentary maximizing can account for both. We show that momentary maximizing constrains molar choice to approximate matching; that molar choice covaries with pigeons' momentary-maximizing estimate; and that the “generalized matching law” follows from almost any hill-climbing rule.     

Uninstructed human responding: Sensitivity of low-rate performance to schedule contingencies

College students' presses on a telegraph key occasionally turned on a light in the presence of which button presses produced points later exchangeable for money. Initially, responding was maintained by low-rate contingencies superimposed on either random-interval or random-ratio schedules. Later, the low-rate contingencies were relaxed. Low-rate key pressing had been established for some students by shaping and for others by demonstration and written instructions. After the low-rate contingencies were relaxed, higher response rates generally did not increase point earnings with random-interval scheduling, but did so with random-ratio scheduling. In both cases, shaped responding usually increased, and instructed responding usually continued at an unchanged low rate. The insensitivity of instructed responding typically occurred despite contact with the contingencies. The differential sensitivity to schedule contingencies of shaped responding relative to instructed responding is consistent with the different properties of contingency-governed and rule-governed behavior and is not rate-dependent.     

非常短暂呈现时间过程中的系列位置效应

以中国汉字为材料,考察不同系列项目呈现时间范式中的系列位置效应,并验证Ｎｅａｔｈ提出的区辨理论公式对中文材料的适用性。结果表明,在非常短暂的系列项目呈现时间,并且项目之间的时间间隔按不同中数比率变化的实验条件中．均存在明显的系列位置效应;但是Ｎｅａｔｈ提出的区辨理论的公式,不能预测本实验结果,从另一个方面说明汉字不同于拼音文字的特点。