Effects of male and female personality on sexual cannibalism in the Springbok mantis

Behaviours that are consistent across contexts (also known as behavioural syndromes) can have evolutionary implications, but their role in scenarios where the sexes conflict, such as sexual cannibalism, is poorly understood. The aggressive spillover hypothesis proposes that cannibalistic attacks during adulthood may depend on female aggressiveness during earlier developmental stages, but evidence for this hypothesis is scarce. Male activity may also influence sexual cannibalism if males approach females quickly and carelessly, yet this has not been explored. Here we use the Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, to explore whether male activity levels and female aggressiveness can explain high rates of sexual cannibalism prior to copulation. We show that male and female personality traits affect male mating decisions, but not sexual cannibalism. Females that were aggressive as juveniles were not more likely to cannibalize males when adult, but these females were approached by males more frequently. More active males were more likely to approach females, but they were neither faster at doing so nor were they more likely to be cannibalized. We also found that size and age influenced mating decisions of both sexes: young females were more like to cannibalize males while young and large males took longer to approach females. Taken together, our results suggest that several traits, including personality, play a role in sexual encounters in M. caffra. Our study further highlights the importance of examining the traits of both sexes when assessing mating dynamics, especially in the context of sexual cannibalism.

Body Size, Not Personality, Explains Both Male Mating Success and Sexual Cannibalism in a Widow Spider

Theory suggests that consistent individual variation in behavior relates to fitness, but few studies have empirically examined the role of personalities in mate choice, male-male competition and reproductive success. We observed the Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, in the individual and mating context, to test how body size measures and two functionally important aggressive behaviors, i.e., male aggression towards rivals and female voracity towards prey, affect mating behaviors, mating success and sexual cannibalism. We specifically selected voracity towards prey in females to test the “aggressive spillover hypothesis”, suggesting that more voracious females are more sexually cannibalistic. Both females and males exhibit consistent individual differences in the examined aggressive behaviors. While larger males win contests more often and achieve more copulations, neither male nor female size measures correlate to aggression. Female voracity does not correlate with aggression towards mates and sexual cannibalism, rejecting the “spillover hypothesis”. However, occurrence of sexual cannibalism positively relates to longer insertion duration. Furthermore, the smaller the ratio between male and female body length the more likely a female attacked and cannibalized a mate. We show that individual variation in aggression levels plays no direct role in the mating behavior of the Mediterranean black widow. Instead, body size affects male mating success and occurrences of sexual cannibalism in females.

Uniendo Familias Latinas: Testing the Spillover Hypothesis With Latino Mothers and Fathers

Consistent with the spillover hypothesis, previous research has found support for the benefits of a healthy marital relationship on the parent–child relationship. However, there is a paucity of research on whether and how marital functioning may be associated with parent–child relationship quality among ethnically diverse populations. In an attempt to address this research gap, the current study tested the effectiveness of a community-based program to improve couple relationship skills and the impact of this program on the parent–child relationship. The study used an extant data set of assessment data from this community-based relationship skills–building program targeting Latino individuals in low-income communities and focused on participants who endorsed being in a marital relationship and having at least one child ( N = 655). Results demonstrated that marital quality increased after participating in the program provided. More importantly, an increase in marital quality was associated with change in parenting quality for both Latino mothers and fathers, supporting the spillover hypothesis. Findings supported the overall effectiveness of the relationship skills–building program to improve marital relationship quality for participating Latino individuals but also suggested the potential benefits of improved parent–child relationship quality.

Spillover, Selection, or Substitution? Workplace and Civic Participation in Democratic Firms

Few studies have critically examined underlying assumptions of the civic spillover hypothesis that participation at work begets participation in civic life. We complicate extant theory by employing mixed methods and the most systematic dataset collected to date on firms fully owned and democratically governed by workers in the United States. Our findings about motivation to join participatory workplaces, substitution of workplace for civic engagement, and permeability of the boundary between professional and civic spheres lay the groundwork for a new conceptual model of civic spillover that illuminates the black box of this social process and sheds light on debates about the implications of workplace structure for democracy in America.

The Effectiveness of Price Bands on Emerging Markets: Evidence from India

We study the impact of price bands in the Indian capital markets and following the methodology of Kim and Rhee (1997) we do not find evidence in support of the volatility spillover hypothesis. Our evidence suggests that price limits does not hinder the price discovery process and may play an important role in reducing the volatility of stock prices in the emerging markets like India.

Auditor’s Characteristics and Earnings Management in India

This study investigates whether auditor’s characteristics such as its independence and professional quality act as a deterrent to earnings management in India. The existing evidence on the relationship of auditor’s independence and quality with earnings management is not conclusive. The said relationship has not been examined in the context of Indian companies. The study uses a panel data of 1,600 firm years. The study provides evidence on the presence of knowledge spillover hypothesis as negative relationship is found between fees for non-audit services and earnings management. The study does not find any significant relationship of EM with industry specialization of the auditor and size of the auditor. The results are consistent under various robustness checks.

4. Neo-functionalism

This chapter examines the main assumptions of neo-functionalism, especially with regards to European integration. The fundamental argument of neo-functionalists is that states are not the only important actors on the international scene. They claim that supranational institutions and non-state actors, such as interest groups and political parties, are the real driving force behind integration efforts. The chapter first provides an overview of the main features of neo-functionalist theory and its historical development since the 1950s before discussing three hypotheses advanced by neo-functionalists: the spillover hypothesis, the elite socialization hypothesis, and the supranational interest group hypothesis. After explaining the concepts of supranationalism and spillover, the chapter considers the main critiques of neo-functionalist theory. It concludes by describing the revival of interest in neo-functionalism and giving some examples that illustrate how today's neo-functionalists differ from those of the 1950s.

The Impact of Union Dissolution and Divorce on Adolescents’ and Adults’ Relationships with their Parents

Using data of the German Family Panel pairfam, this article examines whether relationship-related transitions among adolescents and adults – separations with or without subsequent new relationships and transitions from being single to a relationship – impact different aspects of their relationship with their parents (contact frequency, intimacy, and conflict). Several competing hypotheses are tested. The resource hypothesis, following a supply-side argumentation, posits that relationships generate resources (i.e. social capital) that facilitate exchange with parents; relationship breakup implies resource deprivation and produces strain, which adversely affects the parent-child relationship (spillover hypothesis). According to the demand-based compensation hypothesis, horizontal relationships and vertical intergenerational relations are substitutively associated with each other; hence, exchanges between generations should be strongest when children are not involved in romantic relationships. The analyses yield evidence in line with both the compensation hypothesis (particularly among adolescents) and the spillover hypothesis (among adults). The effects are largely gender neutral.