Tania Reynolds

Grief Functions as an Honest Indicator of Commitment

Grief is a puzzling phenomenon. It is often costly and prolonged, potentially increasing mortality rates, drug abuse, withdrawal from social life, and susceptibility to illness. These costs cannot be repaid by the deceased and therefore might appear wasted. In the following article, we propose a possible solution. Using the principles of social selection theory, we argue that an important selective pressure behind the human grief response was the social decisions of other humans. We combine this with insights from signaling theory, noting that grief shares many properties with other hard-to-fake social signals. We therefore contend that grief was shaped by selective forces to function as a hard-to-fake signal of (a) a person’s propensity to form strong, non-utilitarian bonds and (b) a person’s current level of commitment to a group or cause. This theory explains many of the costly symptoms of grief and provides a progressive framework for future research.

Death Before Dishonor: Incurring Costs to Protect Moral Reputation

Predicated on the notion that people’s survival depends greatly on participation in cooperative society, and that reputation damage may preclude such participation, four studies with diverse methods tested the hypothesis that people would make substantial sacrifices to protect their reputations. A “big data” study found that maintaining a moral reputation is one of people’s most important values. In making hypothetical choices, high percentages of “normal” people reported preferring jail time, amputation of limbs, and death to various forms of reputation damage (i.e., becoming known as a criminal, Nazi, or child molester). Two lab studies found that 30% of people fully submerged their hands in a pile of disgusting live worms, and 63% endured physical pain to prevent dissemination of information suggesting that they were racist. We discuss the implications of reputation protection for theories about altruism and motivation.

Physical Attractiveness: Dating, Mating, and Social Interaction

A person’s physical appearance can have a substantial impact on their job opportunities, treatment from others, and popularity. In this article, we review the evidence from correlational and experimental studies that demonstrate a clear pattern of lookism: the differential treatment of attractive versus unattractive people. The more positive treatment of attractive men and women leads them to develop greater confidence and social skills, which can produce additional career opportunities, expand social networks, improve dating opportunities, and influence who they choose as romantic partners. A person’s perceived physical attractiveness, however, can be shaped by the social and environmental context.

Behavioral immune system activity predicts downregulation of chronic basal inflammation

Here, we present a mechanistically grounded theory detailing a novel function of the behavioral immune system (BIS), the psychological system that prompts pathogen avoidance behaviors. We propose that BIS activity allows the body to downregulate basal inflammation, preventing resultant oxidative damage to DNA and promoting longevity. Study 1 investigated the relationship between a trait measure of pathogen avoidance motivation and in vitro and in vivo proinflammatory cytokine production. Study 2 examined the relationship between this same predictor and DNA damage often associated with prolonged inflammation. Results revealed that greater trait pathogen avoidance motivation predicts a) lower levels of spontaneous (but not stimulated) proinflammatory cytokine release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), b) lower plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), and c) lower levels of oxidative DNA damage. Thus, the BIS may promote health by protecting the body from the deleterious effects of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Progesterone and women's anxiety across the menstrual cycle

ABSTRACT Animal models and a few human investigations suggest progesterone may be associated with anxiety. Progesterone naturally fluctuates across the menstrual cycle, offering an opportunity to understand how within‐person increases in progesterone and average progesterone levels across the cycle correspond to womens anxiety. Across two longitudinal studies, we simultaneously modeled the between‐ and within‐person associations between progesterone and anxiety using multilevel modeling. In Study 1, 100 Polish women provided saliva samples and reported their anxiety at three phases of the menstrual cycle: follicular, peri‐ovulatory, and luteal. A significant between‐person effect emerged, revealing that women with higher average progesterone levels across their cycles reported higher levels of anxiety than women with lower progesterone cycles. This effect held controlling for estradiol. In Study 2, 61 American women provided saliva samples and reported their attachment anxiety during laboratory sessions during the same three cycle phases. A significant between‐person and within‐person association emerged: women with higher average progesterone levels reported higher levels of attachment anxiety, and as womens progesterone levels increased across their cycles, so too did their attachment anxiety. These effects held controlling for cortisol. In sum, both studies provide support for a link between menstrual cycle progesterone levels and subjective anxiety. HighlightsWomen provided saliva and measures of anxiety across their menstrual cycles.Between‐person progesterone (P) was positively linked to reported anxiety (Study 1).Between‐ and within‐person P was positively linked to attachment anxiety (Study 2).Effects held controlling for estradiol (Study 1) and cortisol (Study 2).Cyclical variation in progesterone is associated womens anxiety.

Self-control, cultural animals, and Big Gods.

As Norenzayan et al. cogently argue, religions that proliferated most successfully did so because they facilitated prosociality and cooperation in large-scale, anonymous groups. One important way that religion promotes cooperation may be through improving self-control. In this comment, we cover some potential obstacles to implementing self-control and how religion can overcome them.