Digit ratio (2D:4D), academic performance in computer science and computer-related anxiety

Being able to use information communication technology (ICT) effectively has become an essential element of participation within an increasingly digital culture. However, there are differences in participation within this digital culture. Prenatal testosterone exposure is thought to influence the development of numeric capabilities and relate to levels of anxiety, both of which contribute towards engagement with ICT. This study examined whether an index of prenatal exposure to testosterone, digit ratio (2D:4D), is related to successful involvement within a computer-technology context - performance in a Java programming course. Three studies (N = 73,75,65) identified a consistent negative correlation between 2D:4D digit ratio and attainment (r ≈ −0.2). A fourth study (N = 119) found that 2D:4D digit ratio positively correlated with two indices of computer-related anxieties, as well as anxiety sensitivity (r = 0.32/0.51). These results suggest that males and females who have been exposed to higher levels of testosterone within the womb perform better upon academic assessments of Java-related programming ability within computer science education, and have lower levels of computer-related anxieties outside computer science education. Thus, the 2D:4D index of prenatal testosterone exposure correlated with the two factors that directly impact upon ICT engagement, which is increasingly essential to effectively participate within educational and occupational environments.     

Social status, masculinity, and testosterone in young men

Among other things, sexual selection theory posits that in species with limited male parental investment, males should evolve biological mechanisms to competitively dominate or otherwise compete with one another. It is unclear whether such proposed mechanisms would influence status hierarchies in small human groups. We report the results of a study investigating possible effects of prenatal (index-to-ring finger length ratio or 2D:4D) and salivary testosterone, and masculine identification, on status among 71 male college students living in nine residential groups. The results indicate no role of either prenatal or salivary testosterone in maintaining status hierarchies in these groups. A possible explanation is that peer-assessed status in these groups was arrived at cooperatively rather than through dominance contests.     

A closer look at first sight: Social relations lens model analysis of personality and interpersonal attraction at zero acquaintance

Based on a new theoretical framework—the Social Relations Lens Model—this study examined the influence of personality on real‐life attraction at zero acquaintance. A group of psychology freshmen (N = 73) was investigated upon encountering one another for the first time. Personality traits, attraction ratings and metaperceptions were assessed using a large round‐robin design (2628 dyads). In line with our model, personality differentially predicted who was a liker and who expected to be liked (perceiver effects), who was popular and who was seen as a liker (target effects), as well as who liked whom and who expected to be liked by whom (relationship effects). Moreover, the influence of personality on attraction was mediated by observable physical, nonverbal and audible cues. Results allowed a closer look at first sight and underline the importance of combining componential and process approaches in understanding the interplay of personality and social phenomena. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Justice sensitivity and the processing of justice‐related information

We investigated how Justice Sensitivity (JS) shapes the processing of justice‐related information. We proposed that due to frequently perceiving and ruminating about injustices, persons high in JS develop highly accessible and differentiated injustice concepts that shape attention, interpretation and memory for justice‐related information. Three studies provided evidence for these assumptions. After witnessing injustice, persons high in JS attended more strongly to unjust stimuli than to negative control stimuli (Study1) and interpreted an ambiguous situation as less just than persons low in JS (Study2). Finally, they displayed a memory advantage for unjust information (Study3). Results suggest that JS involves the availability and accessibility of injustice concepts as parameters of cognitive functioning and offer explanations for effects of JS on justice‐related behaviour. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting domain‐specific risk taking with the HEXACO personality structure

Although risk taking traditionally has been viewed as a unitary, stable individual difference variable, emerging evidence in behavioral decision‐making research suggests that risk taking is a domain‐specific construct. Utilizing a psychological risk‐return framework that regresses risk taking on the perceived benefits and perceived riskiness of an activity (Weber & Milliman, 1997 ), this study examined the relations between risk attitude and broad personality dimensions using the new HEXACO personality framework (Lee & Ashton, 2004 ) across four risk domains. This personality framework, which has been replicated in lexical studies in over 12 natural languages, assess personality over six broad personality dimensions, as opposed to the traditional Five‐Factor Model, or “Big Five.” Through path analysis, we regressed risk taking in four separate domains on risk perceptions, perceived benefits, and the six HEXACO dimensions. Across all risk domains, we found that the emotionality dimension was associated with heightened risk perceptions and high conscientiousness was associated with less perceived benefits. We also report several unique patterns of domain‐specific relations between the HEXACO dimensions and risk attitude. Specifically, openness was associated with risk taking and perceived benefits for social and recreational risks, whereas lower honesty/humility was associated with greater health/safety and ethical risk taking. These findings extend our understanding of how individuals approach risk across a variety of contexts, and further highlight the utility of honesty/humility, a dimension not recovered in Big Five models, in individual differences research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘For our garden of remembrance is somewhere else’: Narratives of separation through the eyes of Freud's patients

This article presents a unique collection of narratives of separation – unique because the separation here is from psychoanalysis and from Freud as analyst. These narratives were published as part of memoirs written about Freud by three of his patients. Their narratives of separation give us an innovative point of view on the psychoanalytic process, in particular with respect to the importance they place on the termination phase of the analysis at a time when Freud himself had not given it much consideration. The three autobiographical texts are Abram Kardiner's memoir (1977); the memoir of Sergei Pankejeff, known as the Wolf Man (Gardiner, 1971a ); and ‘Tribute to Freud’, by the poet H.D. ( 1974 ). These three distinguished narratives are discussed here as works of translation, as understood by Walter Benjamin (1968 [1955]), Paul Ricoeur (2006 [2004]), and Jean Laplanche (1999 [1992]). They express translation under three aspects: reconstruction of the past (the work of memory), interpreting the conscious residues of the transference (the work of mourning), and, as a deferred action, deciphering the enigmatic messages received from Freud as the parental figure. This representation of the analysand's writing suggests that the separation from analysis is an endless work of translation within the endless process of deciphering the unconscious.     

Big Five Personality Factors and Facets as Predictors of Openness to Diversity

Openness to diversity is a crucial component of cultural competence needed in the increasingly diversified modern society and a necessary condition for benefitting from diversity contacts and interventions (e.g., diversity training, cultural courses). Responding to the recent call for more research on personality and its relation to diversity outcomes, we examined the associations between Big Five personality (i.e., Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness) higher order factors and lower order facets and universal-diverse orientation (i.e., open attitude of appreciating human universality and diversity; Miville et al., 1999 Miville, M. L., Gelso, C. J., Pannu, R., Liu, W., Touradji, P., &; Holloway, P. (1999). Appreciating similarities and valuing differences: The Miville-Guzman universality-diversity scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 291–307.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). In the Study 1 (N = 338) web survey on Big Five factors, Openness to Experience and Agreeableness were associated with universal-diverse orientation significantly. In the Study 2 (N = 176) paper survey on both Big Five factors and facets, Openness to Experience, low Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness, and various lower-order facets of all the Big Five personality were associated with universal-diverse orientation significantly. Practical implications were suggested on how personality facets could be incorporated into current diversity interventions to enhance their effectiveness of promoting openness to diversity.     

Ability emotional intelligence and its relation to aggression across time and age groups

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been associated with several indicators of psychosocial adjustment, including aggressive behavior, but the relevant research has been mostly cross‐sectional, focused on adults, and limited to trait EI measures (García‐Sancho, Salguero & Fernández‐Berrocal, 2014; Mayer, Roberts & Barsade, 2008 ). The present work explored the relationship between Ability Emotional Intelligence (AEI) and aggression in both adults and adolescents using cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs. We conducted two studies. Study 1 aimed to provide preliminary evidence about the relationship between AEI and aggression in adults. As literature has shown personality traits act as a strong predictor of aggression, study 1 also examined the potential incremental validity of AEI beyond personality traits in 474 undergraduate students (M = 22.76, SD = 5.13). The results indicated AEI explains a significant amount of unique variance for physical aggression, but not for verbal aggression after controlling personality traits. Study 2 aimed a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between EI and aggression in 151 adolescents (M = 14.74, SD = 0.84). AEI predicted physical aggression over time, but it did not predict verbal aggression. Results from both studies suggest a negative and significant relationship between AEI and physical aggression, however contrary our expectations, it did not for verbal aggression. These results highlight the important explanatory role of emotional abilities in physical aggressive conducts and the implications of these findings are discussed.