SPSP May 2012 Tipsheet

Story leads and experts this month for Mothers' Day and Memorial Day and on how we perceive our enemies, tracking happiness, the psychology of hazing, and more...

In this tipsheet:

Mother's Day: Attachment to mom predicts ability to cope with future loss
Mother's Day: Family size, not birth order, matters for intelligence
Memorial Day: Defending the Statue of Liberty
Journals: When enemies seem closer
Journals: Feminine math and science role models do not motivate girls
Journals: Tracking happiness daily
Recent press release: How thinking about death can lead to a good life
Online: Hazing and the death of Robert Champion
Books: The Intelligence Paradox

For Mother's Day-
Attachment to mom predicts ability to cope with future loss

How children cope with the loss of a loved one depends on their attachment to their mother and activity within their nervous system, according to a recent study. Adolescents with more attachment anxiety to their mom at age 14 had a harder time adjusting to the loss of a close social partner than adolescents with less attachment anxiety. "Adolescent Attachment Insecurity and Parasympathetic Functioning Predict Future Loss Adjustment,” Christopher P. Fagundes (christopher.fagundes@osumc.edu) et al., Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin – forthcoming, June 2012.

Family size, not birth order, matters for intelligence

Whether you are mom's first or third child will not affect your intelligence, but the overall size of your family may, according to a new study. Looking at intelligence data from a British longitudinal study of more than 17,000 people, a new paper has found that, contrary to past research, birth order does not affect general intelligence. Smaller family size, however, is linked to higher intelligence. "Intelligence, Birth Order and Family Size,” Satoshi Kanazawa (S.Kanazawa@lse.ac.uk), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin – forthcoming.

Expert -
Monica Biernat of the University of Kansas studies gender and minority bias and stereotyping, including about mothers in the workplace. Contact her at: biernat@ku.edu, 785- 864-9815

For Memorial Day-
Defending the Statue of Liberty

A new study finds that both men and women in the Southern United States believe in responding aggressively – and sometimes in the extreme – to attacks on the nation. In two studies, researchers measure honor ideology on both an individual and regional level, including looking a people's responses to a hypothetical attack on the Statue of Liberty. Read the press release.

Also in the journals-
When enemies seem closer

How we view threats to our group identity shapes how we view the physical world, according to three new studies. In one study, New York Yankees fans estimated that Fenway Park – the stadium of a rival group – was closer than did non-Yankees fans. In another study, Americans who perceived Mexican immigrants as threatening estimated that Mexico City was closer.  "See your friends close, and your enemies closer: Social identity and identity threat shape the representation of physical distance,” Y. Jenny Xiao & Jay J. Van Bavel (jay.vanbavel@nyu.edu), Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, online April 17, 2012 – forthcoming, July 2012.

Feminine math and science role models do not motivate girls

Very feminine women who are good at math and science may actually demotivate girls to pursue those fields, according to a new study that looked at how middle school girls perceive female role models. The researchers say that everyday women will be more likely to get young women interested in math and science. "My Fair Physicist? Feminine Math and Science Role Models Demotivate Young Girls,” Diana Betz (dibetz@umich.edu) and Denise Sekaquaptew, Social Psychological and Personality Science, online March 27, 2012 – forthcoming in print.

Tracking happiness daily

Will you be happier the more you track your happiness? On the whole, no – according to a new study in which young adults reported their happiness via text messaging. Participants who reported their happiness 3 or 6 times a day showed the same patterns of happiness over 13 days as those only reporting once. However, people who had more symptoms of depression had a decrease in happiness levels as they reported more frequently. "Effects of Intensive Mobile Happiness Reporting in Daily Life,” Tamlin S. Conner (tconner@psy.otago.ac.nz) and Katie A. Reid, Social Psychological and Personality Science, May 2012.

Recent press release-

An awareness of mortality can improve physical health and help us re-prioritize our goals and values, according to a new analysis in Personality and Social Psychology Review. Read the press release: How Thinking About Death Can Lead to a Good Life, April 19, 2012.

Online-
Hazing and the death of Robert Champion

Hazing is an entrenched group practice that occurs in ancient and modern societies and in all parts of the world. While some research shows that individuals rate positively groups that cause them to suffer, other research indicates that people prefer groups that support and reward them. Don Forsyth of the University of Virginia examines why hazing is psychologically appealing but yet seriously flawed on the PSP Connections blog.

Book-
The Intelligence Paradox

Intelligence is not necessarily the key to success in life, argues Satoshi Kanazawa in his new book The Intelligence Paradox. Looking at intelligence from an evolutionary psychological perspective, Kanawaza explains how intelligence is one human trait among many and in no way a measure of human worth. From why intelligent people are more likely to be night owls to why intelligent men are more likely to value sexual exclusivity, The Intelligence Paradox explores the latest scientific research on how intelligence affects our behavior and values.