Daniel Farrelly

Individual differences in deductive reasoning

Three studies are reported, which examined individual differences in deductive reasoning as a function of intellectual ability and thinking style. Intellectual ability was a good predictor of logical performance on syllogisms, especially where there was a conflict between logic and believability. However, in the first two experiments there was no link between ability and performance on indicative selection tasks, in sharp contrast to previous research. This correlation did, however, return in the final study. Our data are consistent with the claim that the correlation with logical accuracy on abstract selection tasks is found primarily with participants of relatively high ability. At lower levels, pragmatically cued responses are given but those of slightly higher ability divorce the rule from the scenario and respond consistently (though incorrectly) across problems. Self-report questionnaires were generally poor predictors of performance, but a measure of the ability to generate alternative representations proved an excellent predictor. These results are consistent with a mental models approach to reasoning and also have implications for the debate about human rationality.

Ability EI as an intelligence? Associations of the MSCEIT with performance on emotion processing and social tasks and with cognitive ability

Associations among the MSCEIT, a broad-bandwidth measure of ability emotional intelligence (EI), self-report EI, social perception ability, psychometric intelligence and performance on inspection time (IT) tasks, which assessed the speed of processing of emotional and non-emotional information were investigated in two student samples (N=99, 199). The main findings were that MSCEIT scores were unrelated to fluid ability or speed of non-emotional information processing as assessed by IT, but evidence for associations of MSCEIT scores with crystallised ability was found. Positive associations were found between MSCEIT scores, self-report EI and some emotion/social task scores. The results suggest that EI as assessed by the MSCEIT has some properties of an intelligence and is more closely related to crystallised than to fluid ability. The relatively small MSCEIT/g c correlations suggest that the MSCEIT is not a pure ability measure, although restriction of range in the samples used may also be relevant. More work, and the development of new measures, is required to determine whether performance EI has a fluid component.

Competitors Who Choose to Be Red Have Higher Testosterone Levels

The possible advantage of red coloration in human competition was first examined by Hill and Barton (2005). They found that Olympic athletes in combat sports had a higher probability of winning in dyadic contests when randomly assigned to red outfits rather than blue outfits. Subsequent research has demonstrated that red uniforms are advantageous in other sports, for example, in soccer (Attrill, Gresty, Hill, & Barton, 2008; Greenlees, Leyland, Thelwell, & Filby, 2008) and online games (Ilie, Ioan, Zagrean, & Moldovan, 2008). Possible roles of testosterone in the effects of red coloration in competition have been suggested. For example, Barton and Hill (2005) proposed that testosterone levels may be elevated in response to wearing red; however, no support for this role has been found to date (Hackney, 2006). An alternative explanation is that red coloration can act as a reliable signal of an individual’s competitive quality, via high testosterone levels. Such signals may already be evident in natural coloration, such as skin color, as in nonhuman primates (e.g., Setchell & Dixson, 2001). We propose that individuals with high testosterone levels may also actively choose red artificial stimuli (e.g., uniforms) when available as a further display of competitive quality. We investigated this hypothesis by testing the association between testosterone levels and the color individuals chose to represent themselves in competition; we predicted that those who chose red would have higher testosterone levels than would those who chose another color. This proposed role of testosterone in red signals could also help explain why red signals are associated with other traits important in competition, such as dominance, threat, and aggression (Feltman & Elliot, 2011; Little & Hill, 2007; Stephen, Oldham, Perrett, & Barton, 2012). Therefore, associations of such traits with individuals’ chosen colors were also examined, and we predicted that these associations would be stronger in those individuals who chose red than in those who chose blue.

The Role of Reasoning Domain on Face Recognition: Detecting Violations of Social Contract and Hazard Management Rules

Face recognition has previously been used to provide evidence for the existence of human cheater detection mechanisms; however such evidence is currently inconclusive. This study aimed to further analyze recognition of violators and cooperators of rules by using two different contexts, social contracts (SC) and hazard management (HM). Participants were presented with male faces alongside either a SC or HM scenario and told whether the individual had violated or cooperated with the rule. Participants were then asked to identify the faces and behavior of those individuals from the first part of the study from a larger set of photographs. Results indicate that faces and behaviors of rule violators were remembered better than those of rule cooperators, and faces (but not behaviors) in SC scenarios were remembered better than those in HM scenarios. These results are interpreted as providing possible evidence of a general rule violator detection mechanism, with face recognition abilities then mediating differences between SC and HM scenarios. Furthermore, the disparity in how humans interpret SC and HM scenarios is discussed from an evolutionary perspective, with reference to how behavior in each rule affects the inclusive fitness of others.

Altruism as an Indicator of Good Parenting Quality in Long-Term Relationships: Further Investigations Using the Mate Preferences Towards Altruistic Traits Scale

ABSTRACT Research has shown that altruism plays a role in mate choice, and recent studies suggest it is most important for long-term relationships. This study examined whether altruism is preferred for long-term relationships for both males and females. This was achieved using two versions of the Mate Preferences Towards Altruistic Traits (MPAT) scale that assessed preferences for short-term and long-term relationships. Both males and females significantly preferred altruistic mates for long-term relationships, and the size of this preference was greater than for other traits in mate choice. This provides support for previous findings that state that altruism conveys information about an individuals partner/parenting qualities or good character.

Marriage affects competitive performance in male tennis players

Cultural displays, such as art and science, are proposed to be used by males to compete for potential mates. As a result, the desire to engage in such behaviours will diminish following marriage. Male competition in sport can be considered a cultural display for potential mates, therefore male sporting performance will be negatively affected by marriage. Here we show that professional male tennis players perform significantly worse in the year after their marriage compared to the year before, whereas there is no such effect for unmarried players of the same age. Therefore the results suggest that following marriage, males experience an evolved psychological mechanism that leads to less motivation to engage in intra-sexual competition. Fluctuating testosterone (T) levels are discussed as providing the underlying biochemical changes necessary for such mechanisms.

Are Women’s Mate Preferences for Altruism Also Influenced by Physical Attractiveness?:

Altruism plays a role in mate choice, particularly in women’s preferences and in long-term (LT) relationships. The current study analyzed how these preferences interacted with another important mate choice variable, physical attractiveness. Here, female participants were presented with photographs of men of varying levels of physical attractiveness, alongside descriptions of them behaving either altruistically or not in different scenarios. The results showed women preferred altruistic men, particularly in LT relationships and that this interacted with physical attractiveness such that being both attractive and altruistic made a man more desirable than just the sum of the two desirable parts. Also, being altruistic made low attractive men more desirable but only for LT relationships. Finally, men who were just altruistic were rated more desirable than men who were just attractive, especially for LT relationships. Overall, these findings are discussed in terms of the role of altruism in mate choice, particularly in LT relationships and directions of future research.

The effects of being in a "new relationship" on levels of testosterone in men.

In light of previous research showing that different types of relationships affect levels of testosterone in men, this study examined whether categorizing relationship types according to relationship length can shed further light on variations in levels of testosterone. Salivary testosterone samples were obtained from a sample of men and details about their relationship status, sociosexual orientation, extra-pair sexual interest, and their perceptions of their relationships were recorded. Using a median split analysis, participants who indicated that they had been in their relationship for less than 12 months were categorized as being in “new relationships” and those in longer relationships being categorized as in long-term relationships. Results showed that levels of testosterone of single men and men in new relationships did not differ, but both had significantly greater levels of testosterone than men in long-term relationships. Differences in levels of testosterone were unrelated to sociosexual orientation and extra-pair sexual interest. These findings support the evolutionary explanation of levels of testosterone in men varying in accordance with their internal motivation to seek new potential mates.

Evidence of an Alternative Currency for Altruism in Laboratory-Based Experiments

Research shows that altruistic behaviours arise in varying social situations in line with different theories of causes of such behaviours. However most research uses financial costs only, which makes our understanding of altruism currently limited. This study presents findings of three experiments that use a novel and simple laboratory-based task that measures altruism based on the amount of time participants are willing to spend as a cost to help others. This task assessed two specific theories; altruistic punishment (Experiments 1 & 2) and empathy-altruism (Experiment 3). All experiments showed that the task was successful, as participants were more likely to altruistically punish violators of social contracts than other scenarios (Experiments 1 and 2), and also incur more costs to behave altruistically towards others when feeling empathic than different emotional states (Experiment 3). These results provide clear support for the use and value of this novel task in future research.