while the opposite was expected for the latter. Men were expected to exhibit no change. In fact, no systematic change in any variable was observed for any group. Even unsystematic change was minimal. This suggests that the survey instrument is highly reliable, but it does not support the biological hypothesis for political orientations. Attempts to test biological explanations of observed political behavior are reasonable enough given the underdeveloped status of the research. Testing for biological roots of male-female political differences is justified by extant literature. Given this, what inter-pretation should be placed on the negative empirical results just reported? One might conclude that reasonable though the attempt may have been, there is little justification for further work in this field. Indeed, at least by implication, the case for cultural explana-tions of sex differences in politics is strengthened. If negative results can stimulate more imaginative inquiry into cultural explanation, they still serve a very useful purpose, for there is much to be done here. Similarly, though they should not have been deterred by positive findings, persons who seek more equitable status for women through modification of the cultural environment may take heart from this, for it does underscore the likely efficacy of their strategy. There are other implications to this effort. First, it is possible to do actual research about the importance of biological variables in political behavior. The process does not have to be difficult; ques-tions generated by the literature are amenable to straightforward research. One study producing negative results in a single area can-not represent closure across the whole broad question of biology and political behavior. Hopefully this work will stimulate further think-ing on related concepts in the discipline. Finally, it is unlikely that the question of whether there are biological roots to male-female political differences will be regarded as definitively settled at any time in the near future. Perhaps this will encourage measured, re-sponsible research into the matter; it would not do to leave this area of inquiry entirely to chauvinists and polemicists. NOTES

2012 ◽  
pp. 152-220
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Martínez ◽  
Christoph Winter

To what extent, if any, should the law protect sentient artificial intelligence (that is, AI that can feel pleasure or pain)? Here we surveyed United States adults (n = 1,061) on their views regarding granting 1) general legal protection, 2) legal personhood, and 3) standing to bring forth a lawsuit, with respect to sentient AI and eight other groups: humans in the jurisdiction, humans outside the jurisdiction, corporations, unions, non-human animals, the environment, humans living in the near future, and humans living in the far future. Roughly one-third of participants endorsed granting personhood and standing to sentient AI (assuming its existence) in at least some cases, the lowest of any group surveyed on, and rated the desired level of protection for sentient AI as lower than all groups other than corporations. We further investigated and observed political differences in responses; liberals were more likely to endorse legal protection and personhood for sentient AI than conservatives. Taken together, these results suggest that laypeople are not by-and-large in favor of granting legal protection to AI, and that the ordinary conception of legal status, similar to codified legal doctrine, is not based on a mere capacity to feel pleasure and pain. At the same time, the observed political differences suggest that previous literature regarding political differences in empathy and moral circle expansion apply to artificially intelligent systems and extend partially, though not entirely, to legal consideration, as well.


2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 929-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Deahl

Objective: The efficacy of psychological debriefing following potentially traumatising events has become extremely controversial. This review aims to identify the issues underlying this controversy and their theoretical, social and political ramifications which are important in other areas of psychiatry and the social sciences. Method: The historical background to the debriefing debate and the (largely negative) results of recent randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are reviewed. Results: Despite the negative results of recent RCTs, psychological debriefing remains the most widely used structured intervention following potentially traumatising events, designed to reduce the incidence of long-term psychiatric morbidity. The clinical relevance these trials and their applicability in vivo is questioned. There are implicit difficulties in conducting rigorous randomised controlled trials of group debriefing, and such trials may be unachievable. Conclusions: Demonstrating the efficacy of debriefing or other preventive interventions presents major challenges to investigators and it is unlikely the controversy will be resolved in the near future.


1996 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-260
Author(s):  
Nora Newcombe ◽  
Mary Ann Baenninger

AbstractWe evaluate three of Geary's claims, finding that (1) there is little evidence for sex differences in object- vs. person-orientation; (2) sex differences in competition, even if biologically caused, lead to sex differences in mathematics only given a certain style of teaching; and (3) sex differences in mental rotation, though real, are not well explained in a sociobiological framework or by the proximate biological variables assumed by Geary.


Author(s):  
Jan Erik Lönnqvist ◽  
Ville-Juhani Ilmarinen

AbstractWe investigated the attitudes of the 11,410 candidates in the Finnish 2017 municipal elections who had responded to a Voting Advice Application. Women candidates were, both in terms of economic and social attitudes, more progressive than men. Building on the gender diagnosticity approach, we used responses to the attitude items to construct a dimensional measure of political genderedness; i.e., a measure of the femininity–masculinity of the individual’s political attitudes. We used this measure to investigate the magnitude of sex differences across parties and the determinants of these differences. Sex differences were larger in parties with more economically right-oriented, socially conservative, well-off, and male candidates. Moreover, these differences were caused by men in these parties being different from other candidates. A similar methodology, in which a continuous measure of genderedness is used to assess sex differences, could be used in other domains of research on political behavior.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Erik Lönnqvist ◽  
Ville Juhani Ilmarinen

We investigated the attitudes of the 11410 candidates in the Finnish 2017 municipal elections who had responded to a Voting Advice Application. Women candidates were, both in terms of economic and social attitudes, more progressive than men. Building on the gender diagnosticity approach, we used responses to the attitude items to construct a dimensional measure of political genderedness; i.e., a measure of the femininity-masculinity of the individual’s political attitudes. We used this measure to investigate the magnitude of sex differences across parties and the determinants of these differences. Sex differences were larger in parties with more economically right-oriented, socially conservative, well-off, and male candidates. Moreover, these differences were caused by men in these parties being different from other candidates. A similar methodology, in which a continuous measure of genderedness is used to assess sex differences, could be used in other domains of research on political behavior.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben C. Arslan ◽  
Christoph Julian von Borell ◽  
Julia Ostner ◽  
Lars Penke

The authors suggest that social learning can explain the cognitive positive manifold for social animals including humans. We caution that simpler explanations of positive trait intercorrelations exist, such as genetic load. To test the suggested explanation’s specificity, we also need to examine non-social species and traits such as health that are distal to cognitive abilities.


F1000Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 234
Author(s):  
Brian R. Hudgens ◽  
David K. Garcelon

Determining whether or not a species has been extirpated from part of its range is one of the most important yet difficult challenges facing ecologists.  Presence/absence surveys are a primary method to determine local extinction, but negative results are difficult to interpret, particularly when informal sightings appear to support local persistence of elusive species.  Such conflicts are particularly likely for rare species, which are the most difficult to detect during a presence/absence survey due to small population size.  However, integrating small population effects on both detection and extinction probabilities resolves such conflicts by reframing occupancy questions from present to near future terms.  We developed methods for integrating the simultaneous effects of survey effort and population size on detection and extinction probabilities in the design and interpretation of presence/absence surveys.  We applied these methods to the design and interpretation of a wolverine survey in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, California, USA, to address questions about the appropriateness of translocations from other populations.  Ecological applications that can benefit from this type of analysis, simultaneously incorporating small population effects on both detection and population processes, include management of charismatic, yet elusive species, management of disease risk in translocations, and management of nonnative pests.


1968 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Cottle ◽  
Joseph Pleck ◽  
Sudhir Kakar

An Experiential Inventory instructed a sample of Indian adolescents to list 10 important experiences of their lives, past, present, and future. Each experience then was to be labeled by the respondent according to a more exact temporal location: distant past, near past, present, near future and distant future. A content analysis then was used to catalogue experiences according to four basic typologies: system-reference or the prime actor in the experience, quality or the type of experience, evaluation of the experience, and inherent temporality or the degree of the experience's discreteness or diffuseness in time. Findings include the frequency of experiences in the temporal zones as well as temporal analyses of individual experiential contents. In addition, relationships are demonstrated between the temporal location and content of experiences and their corresponding effects on performance on the total Experiential Inventory. Sex differences are examined finally, in light of a proposed past-present-future integrity.


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