The complex relationship between creativity and consumer ethics depending on endemic corruption in emerging and developed countries

Creativity and ethics are two topics that are extremely important to business managers and researchers. However, only limited research has examined their relationship and has shown contradictory results: the effect of creativity on unethical behavior proves to be sometimes positive, sometimes negative. In this vein, building on social cognitive theory, we examine whether this relationship depends on a macroeconomic factor – endemic corruption – as a boundary condition. We further consider the mechanism through which creativity can lead to unethical behavior and focus on the role of subjective well-being. We collect data from 1463 individuals in two high-corruption and emerging countries, Brazil and China, and two low-corruption and developed countries, France and the United States. Based on a multi-level (or hierarchical) analysis, our results show that, in high-corruption countries, creativity is negatively related to unethical behaviors. Conversely, in low-corruption countries, the relationship is positive and mediated by subjective well-being.     

Cytokine production by spleen cells after social defeat in mice: activation of T cells and reduced inhibition by glucocorticoids

Social disruption (SDR) is an effective model of social stress associated with an enhanced inflammatory reactivity of the immune system. The aim of the present study was to further describe SDR effects on cytokine production by spleen cells, testing selectively monocyte and T cell functions as a result of this stressor. For this purpose, splenocytes from control mice (C) and mice socially stressed for 7 days (SDR) were cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin A (Con A). Splenocyte proliferation, cytokine production and sensitivity of spleen cells to corticosterone were assessed in vitro. The humoral response to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) immunization was assessed. SDR induced splenomegaly and enhanced splenocyte basal proliferation. The pro-inflammatory influence of SDR was confirmed by an increased release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by LPS-stimulated cultures and by a reduced sensitivity of spleen cells to the anti-inflammatory effect of corticosterone. The mechanism increasing cytokine production in response to LPS was cytokine specific, since among inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 but not interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) was enhanced by stress. In stressed mice, the increase in IL-6 and IFN-gamma and the decrease in IL-10 release in Con A-stimulated cultures indicate that SDR did not modify the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance but globally activated T cells. Plasma anti-KLH antibody levels were similar in both groups. Wounded and non-wounded mice presented similar responses to stress. This study shows that social disruption stress enhances the reactivity of cells from both the acquired and innate immune systems.     

A Further Examination of the Distinction Between Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Parental Psychological Control: Psychometric Properties of the DAPCS with French-Speaking Late Adolescents

Psychological control refers to parental behaviors that intrude on the psychological and emotional development of the child. In 2010, Soenens et al. proposed a distinction between two domain-specific expressions of psychological control, that is, Dependency-oriented Psychological Control (DPC) and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control (APC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of the French form of the Dependency-oriented and Achievement-oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS; Soenens et al. in J Pers 78(1):217–256, 2010) in a sample of late adolescents (N?=?291, mean age?=?21.65). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized two-factor solution of the DAPCS for paternal as well as for maternal ratings. Moreover, high indices of internal consistency indicated that both subscales produced reliable scores. Further, convergent validity was confirmed by theoretically consistent associations between the DAPCS’ subscales and well-established assessments of general parenting style dimensions. Finally, results evidenced gender specific patterns supporting the relevance of domain differentiation in the assessment of psychological control. Overall, the results of this study indicated that the French form of the DAPCS might be a useful instrument to assess two domain-specific types of parental psychological control among French-speaking adolescents.     

Mutual mother–offspring vocal recognition in an ungulate hider species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capra hircus</Emphasis>)

Parent–offspring recognition can be essential for offspring survival and important to avoid misdirected parental care when progeny mingle in large social groups. In ungulates, offspring antipredator strategies (hiding vs. following) result in differences in mother–offspring interactions, and thus different selection pressures acting on the recognition process during the first weeks of life. Hider offspring are isolated and relatively stationary and silent to avoid detection by predators, whereas follower offspring are mobile and rapidly mix in large social groups. For these reasons, hiders have been suggested to show low offspring call individuality leading to unidirectional recognition of mothers by offspring and followers high offspring call individuality and mutual recognition. We hypothesised that similar differences would exist in hider species between the hiding phase (i.e. unidirectional recognition) and the phase when offspring join social groups (i.e. mutual recognition). We tested these predictions with goats (Capra hircus), a hider species characterised by strong mother–offspring attachment. We compared the individuality of kid and mother calls, and the vocal recognition ability, during the early phase of life when kids are usually hidden and later when kids have typically joined social groups. Contrary to our predictions, we found that both kids and mothers had individualised contact calls and that mutual recognition existed even during the hiding phase. The large differences in the duration of the hiding phase and in the rate of mother–offspring interactions (possibly partially driven by domestication in some species) probably cause variations among hider species in the mother–offspring recognition process.     

Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment

We describe the development and evaluation of a computer-controlled system for delivering odors in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. The system allows a timely presentation of different odors in synchrony with MRI sequences and participant’s inspiration phase. The rise/fall time of odor deliverance has been optimized to generate prompt and strong stimulations. Equipped with a user-friendly programming interface, the system can be used reliably in a wide range of experimental paradigms. We have paid particular attention to developing a portable system that is relatively easy, rapid, and inexpensive to replicate. The equipment has been tested in a 3-Tesla MRI in a boxcar paradigm, in which stimulation conditions alternated with rest periods (no stimulation). The experiment demonstrated the good functioning of the device and its efficiency in producing the expected activation in the olfactory cortex; it also revealed some methodological and technical aspects to be improved.     

Cytokine stress responses depend on lateralization in mice

In mice, lateralization as assessed by paw preference represents a behavioral trait linked to immune reactivity and stress susceptibility. Right-pawed mice are more reactive to stress than left-pawed animals when brain metabolism, activation of the corticoid axis, and depression of lymphoproliferation are studied. Since stress responses include cytokine production, we address the possibility that lateralization influences the production of cytokines--especially interleukin (IL)-1--responsible for depression of lymphoproliferation and activation of the corticoid axis. Increased plasma IL-1 level that may be considered as a stress marker, was observed in right- but not in left-pawed mice submitted to a 4 h-restraint. Likewise, plasma levels were greater in right- than in left-pawed animals 2 h after the administration of a low dose of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). By contrast, there was no lateralization effect in restraint-induced plasma level of IL-6 or in the LPS-induced increase in plasma IL-10. Prazosin, an alpha1/alpha2 adrenoreceptor antagonist, drastically increased plasma IL-10 induced by LPS, reduced plasma levels of IL-1 and abolished the effect of lateralization observed after LPS alone. This suggests that alpha-adrenergic modulation of IL-1 production depends on lateralization through mechanisms that need further investigation.     

An information-theory approach to geometry for animal groups

Animal Cognition - One of the hardest problems in studying animal behaviour is to quantify patterns of social interaction at the group level. Recent technological developments in global positioning...     

Negative priming effect after inhibition of number/length interference in a Piaget‐like task

According to Dempster, Piagetian tasks have more to do with the child’s ability to resist (inhibit) interference than they do with the ability to grasp their underlying logic. Here we used a chronometric paradigm with 9‐year‐olds, who succeed in Piaget’s conservation of number task, to test the role of cognitive inhibition in a priming version of this classical task. The experimental design was such that the misleading strategy ‘length‐equals‐number’ to inhibit on the prime (a Piaget‐like item with number/length interference) became a congruent strategy to activate on the probe (a subsequent item where number and length covaried). A negative priming effect of 158 ms was observed for the prime–probe sequence. This result confirms that success on Piaget‐like tasks (the prime) requires an inhibition process.     

Intergroup threat,social dominance,and the malleability of ideology: The importance of conceptual replication

Consistent with the theory of malleable ideology, research has shown that, under intergroup threat, antiegalitarian individuals will exploit the malleable character of color blindness and strategically claim to be strong supporters of it. In three studies conducted in France, we found no support for this theory when measuring color blindness but strong support when using measures of laïcité, an ideology of secularism. Indeed, those who score low on social dominance orientation (SDO) were more likely to support laïcité than antiegalitarian individuals. However, a situational threat (Study 1), a symbolic threat experimentally induced (Study 2), and a perceived symbolic threat (Study 3) were all related to increased support for laïcité by people high in SDO, without affecting those low in SDO. Thus, laïcité is a malleable ideology that can be adopted by individuals having contrasting motivations, as color blindness in the United States. Implications for the role of exact and conceptual replications in the development of a psychological science are discussed.     

The practice of using makeup: A consumption ritual of adolescent girls

The consumption of makeup by teenage girls may represent a ritual critical to the rite of passage to adulthood. To explore this issue, depth interviews were conducted with 25 teenage girls in France, ages 14–18 years, about their makeup use. The data in this exploratory study suggest that putting on makeup is a ritual that plays a critical role for adolescent girls separating from their childhood and transitioning toward adulthood. Evidence of ritual dimensions (repetition, symbolic, codification, and dramaturgy) was found. The data further suggest that the traditional rite of passage associated with primitive societies is useful in identifying ritual teenage girls' makeup consumption in modern society, although with some differences. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.