All articles tagged with #social science
Originally Published 26 days ago — by Nature
AI's transformative potential on the global economy is vast and uncertain, with predictions ranging from modest growth to a trillion-dollar revolution. Understanding its effects requires real-time data, imaginative social science models, and careful experimentation to anticipate societal shifts, policy needs, and inequality risks.
Originally Published 5 months ago — by PsyPost
A study finds that individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds exhibit greater physiological attunement and signs of comfort during social interactions, regardless of their partner's class, but still prefer same-class interactions, highlighting complex dynamics in cross-class social engagement.
Originally Published 6 months ago — by Neuroscience News
A new study suggests that perceived societal polarization is often exaggerated by individuals' social circles, where agreement within groups influences perceptions of broader societal division, highlighting the importance of shifting perceptions to reduce polarization.
Originally Published 6 months ago — by PsyPost
A comprehensive review of nearly 340 studies suggests that actual similarity between long-term romantic partners has only a modest and inconsistent impact on relationship satisfaction and stability, whereas perceived similarity appears to be more influential, highlighting the importance of perceptions over measurable traits.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Vox.com
The World Happiness Report, which ranks countries by happiness, relies on the Cantril Ladder, a single-question survey that may inadvertently measure status rather than overall well-being. Researchers found that different versions of the question elicited different associations, with the original ladder framing emphasizing power and wealth. This highlights the influence of cultural metaphors on survey results and the potential impact of social comparison on happiness. The report's focus on country rankings may reinforce a competitive view that hinders happiness, while social media and income inequality contribute to unhappiness by fueling social comparison.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by PsyPost
A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General reveals that specific facial features are linked to perceptions of social class. Wider, shorter, and flatter faces with downturned mouths and cooler, darker complexions are associated with lower social class, while narrower, longer, and more protruding faces with upturned mouths and lighter, warmer skin tones are attributed to higher social class. These perceptions closely mirror judgments of social traits such as competence and trustworthiness. The study emphasizes the subjective nature of social class perception and the influence of stereotypes on these judgments, and suggests that future research could explore these dynamics across different cultures and ethnicities.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley
The World Happiness Report indicates that young people in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are less happy than their older counterparts, in contrast to global trends where the young tend to be happier. This is attributed to increased negative emotions, lower satisfaction with living conditions, and decreased support from friends and family. The report suggests that the decline in happiness for all age groups in these countries may be linked to changes hitting the young harder than others. Additionally, the surge in helping, donating, and volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to well-being, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by NPR
The U.S. has dropped in the global happiness ranking, but individuals aged 60 and older in the country report higher levels of well-being compared to younger age groups. There is a decline in happiness among younger adolescents and young adults in the U.S., as well as in Canada, Australia, and parts of western Europe and Britain. Factors such as social support, healthy life expectancy, and societal pressures contribute to these shifts in happiness levels across different age groups.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Neuroscience News
A cross-cultural study involving over 3,100 participants from 22 countries revealed that lower voice pitch is universally preferred for long-term relationships and associated with increased formidability and prestige in males. The study's findings are consistent across different cultures, suggesting a universal aspect of human psychology related to voice pitch perceptions. Voice pitch's impact on social evaluations is influenced by societal factors such as relational mobility and violence rates, indicating its adaptability to social environments and highlighting its importance in human interaction and social mobility.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Phys.org
A cross-cultural study found that lower voice pitch makes individuals sound more attractive for long-term relationships and confers a sense of formidability and prestige, particularly among men. The study, published in Psychological Science, suggests that voice pitch influences social perceptions and status evaluation, with lower pitches being preferred for long-term relationships and higher pitches being perceived as more flirtatious. The findings also indicate that perceptions of voice pitch vary across societies based on factors such as relational mobility and homicide rates, shedding light on the evolutionary significance of voice pitch in human social interactions.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by PsyPost
A new study from the University of Liverpool and Stanford University explores the intricate relationship between depression and political attitudes, revealing that pandemic-related stress can trigger depressive symptoms, which in turn shape political perceptions through specific cognitive processes. The study found that individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in negative repetitive thinking and exhibit a bias towards negative news, which negatively impacted their internal political efficacy, trust in government, and satisfaction with political institutions. While cautioning against drawing firm causal conclusions, the researchers suggest that future research could delve deeper into these relationships to better understand the impact of depression on political attitudes.
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Euronews
A new study examining antidepressant use has found that women may experience more mental health difficulties than men during a divorce or separation after the age of 50. The research, which compared antidepressant use among men and women during and after different types of separations, suggests that women had larger increases in antidepressant use before a divorce or break-up and fewer reductions after entering a new relationship. The study's findings highlight the potential adverse mental health effects of divorce on women and the weaker beneficial effects of re-partnering, possibly due to economic impacts and differences in seeking help for mental health problems between genders.
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Phys.org
A survey conducted by behavioral scientists at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil suggests that men who drive expensive cars are perceived to have higher mating value and positive attributes. The majority of respondents, both male and female, viewed men driving luxury vehicles as more socially dominant, competent, and intelligent. Luxury car owners also reported higher self-confidence and perceived themselves to have higher social status and mating value.
Originally Published 2 years ago — by PsyPost
A recent study published in PLOS One has found a connection between people's moral values and their musical preferences. Researchers analyzed the musical preferences and moral values of 1,480 participants, using machine learning algorithms to predict moral values based on lyrical content and audio features of preferred songs. The study revealed that individuals who value care and fairness tend to prefer songs with lyrics revolving around themes of care and joy, while those who prioritize loyalty, authority, and purity are drawn to lyrics discussing fairness, sanctity, and love. Surprisingly, the study also found that the musical attributes of songs, such as danceability and acoustic qualities, can reflect an individual's moral values. However, the study's findings may not be universally applicable due to the data primarily coming from Facebook users in Italy and the focus on English-language songs.
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Phys.org
A study conducted by researchers from multiple institutions suggests that rewarding individuals for contributing to a virtual public good, such as online ratings, can improve the accuracy and overall quality of the resource. The study used a simulation involving over 500 participants and found that incentivizing contributions increased the proportion of individuals who left ratings from 35% to 70%. Free riders who responded to incentives provided higher quality evaluations and balanced out over-optimistic ratings from intrinsically motivated contributors. The findings have implications for online rating systems and other collective action problems.