Category: Psychology

Optogenetics is the scientific technique of using light to control parts of the brain with light. It was in 2010 when news about the term hit Scientific America.

Recently, a team of international investigators working with mice were able to use optogenetics to turn fear off and on.

Read the article here.

Mammadov’s (2021) metaanalysis on the Big Five personality traits and academic performance is an interesting read. He concludes by linking conscientiousness as explaining a good portion of academic performance variance.

For background, the Big Five or the Five Factor Model (FFM) is a personality theory proposed made popular by Costa and McCrae (1999). The FFM has, big surprise, five dimensions: Openness to New Experiences; Conscientiousness; Extraversion; Agreeableness; and, Neuroticism (or, positively, Emotional Stability). People high in conscientiousness are those that prepare or plan well. They can become workaholics or be seen as deliberate.

Given this definition, it would make sense to see why higher conscientiousness would be linked to academic performance. I certainly know when I plan, I do better (or at least it feels this way).

Interestingly, in my research on law enforcement personal differences, I found conscientiousness had the highest mean among the FFM. This could indicate that law enforcement officers like to be planners.

The attraction preferences of men who have sex with men (MSM) are largely
unknown. While previous research has examined certain aspects tied to masculinity and race, no comprehensive study has been conducted. The current research addressed this gap by conducting two comprehensive surveys of the attraction preferences for MSM participants. The two surveys had participants identify key elements about themselves and then identify the attraction of these same elements in others. The results showed there were no universal ideal preferences for MSMs. That said, we found trends suggesting different body typed individuals have strong preferences for other body types. We discuss the practical implications of these findings, including the potential to predict attraction among the MSM population. This research supports the belief that MSMs have strong preferences for potential sexual partners.

Citation: Challacombe, D.J., & Perdomo, N. (2021). Attraction Preferences of Men who have Sex with Men. Sexuality & Culture. doi: 10.1007/s12119-021-09861-6

Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in people who believe in conspiracy theories. These individuals, like followers of QAnon to COVID-deniers, have always fascinated researchers. Now, we may have a greater understanding of these individuals.

Bowes, Costello, Ma, and Lilienfeld (2020) used community (Amazon’s Mechanical Turk) and student participants to examine conspiratorial ideation. Through the course of four studies, the researchers found the explanation was complex, multifaceted.

They found some correlates — both positive and negative. In their own words: “A mixture of narcissism and undue intellectual certainty, on the one hand, conjoined with poor impulse control, angst, interpersonal alienation, and reduced inquisitiveness, on the other hand, may provide a personological recipe for a tendency to impetuously latch on to spurious but confidently held causal narratives that account for one’s distress and resentment. To the persons fitting this portrait, positing a world populated by malevolent actors hatching secret plots may be comforting, as it may afford at least a partial explanation for their otherwise inexplicable negative emotions” (pg. 12).

This was an interesting study.