Authors:Yuta Kawamura, Takashi Kusumi Abstract: To investigate the function of altruism as a mating signal especially among males, the present study examined whether the motivation of a man who behaves altruistically toward a woman is more likely to be perceived as selfish by a third party. In two studies, participants read vignettes about one person helping a stranger, after which they rated the helpers’ perceived selfish motivation. We manipulated the sex of the recipient and helper (Study 1) and the recipient’s age (young vs. old; Study 2). In both studies, a man who helped a young woman was regarded as having a more selfish motivation than was an individual who helped the same sex. Conversely, although a woman who helped a man was viewed as more selfish than was a woman who helped another woman, the effect was smaller than when the helper was male (Study 1). Furthermore, a man who helped an old woman was not regarded as more selfish than was a man who helped another man (Study 2). These results support the notion that male altruism works as a courtship display. PubDate: 2017-12-07 Issue No:Vol. 8 (2017)
Authors:Ryo Oda Abstract: Humans are a slow life-history strategy species compared to other animals. However, individual differences occur within species. Individuals develop in a flexible manner to choose the best life-history strategy in response to internal and external factors, such as the unpredictability of the environment. The burden of lifespan-limiting disease, over which one feels little control, could be a factor modulating life-history strategy. This study investigated the effects of perceived susceptibility to disease and germ aversion on individual differences in life-history strategy using a large sample of Japanese adults. The results indicate that the effects of perceived susceptibility to infection and germ aversion on life history strategy was much weaker than that of a harsh socio-economic environment, which did not support results of a previous study. This may have been caused by the special environment of contemporary medical care in Japan, wherein medical standards are very high and mortality rates are relatively low. PubDate: 2017-11-10 Issue No:Vol. 8 (2017)
Authors:Tatsunori Ishii Abstract: The present research examined the hypothesis that religious belief is derived from humans’ mentalizing ability in the context of East Asia where polytheistic religion is the mainstream. Two studies were conducted with a Japanese healthy sample, and both revealed that contrary to the hypothesis, autistic traits did not predict religious belief, whereas mentalizing predicted increased religious belief as expected. These findings suggest that further practical and theoretical investigations on the origin of religious belief are needed. PubDate: 2017-10-23 Issue No:Vol. 8 (2017)
Authors:Paul Lennon, Rachel Grant, V. Tamara Montrose Abstract: The effects of watching eyes upon prosocial behavior have been explored in various contexts, for example, in relation to charitable donations, honor-system payments and littering. Whilst studies have explored the effects of both photographic and stylized eyes upon prosocial behavior, no study, to our knowledge, has compared stylized eyes to photographic eyes. Here we explored the effects of stylized and photographic eye images upon prosocial behavior assessed via charitable donations in a ‘free cakes’ field experiment. Charitable giving was assessed under six eye image conditions, three stylized eye images (evil eye, eye of Horus, all-seeing eye), one photographic eye image (human eye image) and two control images (geometric shape control and blank control). No difference in the amount of money donated was found between any of the eye image conditions. These results suggest that watching eyes, whether stylized or photographic, are not effective at eliciting prosocial behavior via charitable giving. However, further study contrasting single and paired eye imagery, and exploration of the effects of stylized eye imagery in deterring littering and crime, would be beneficial. PubDate: 2017-09-08 Issue No:Vol. 8 (2017)
Authors:Minoru Matsui, Kenta Ono, Makoto Watanabe Abstract: Previous cultural evolutionary analyses argue that random-copying model that is analogous to genetic drift in population genetics explains a variety of real-world datasets. Few empirical investigations have been done on how cultural traits are actually generated and selected. We present experimental data that matches random-copying simulation very well. In our experiment, designers copied what they considered well designed, and eliminated the poor ones, and designed several novel drawings by different design strategies in a cultural transmission chain. What were conventionally thought useful for designers to produce designs that prosper, such as practice, exposure to other design and experience in design, do not quite contribute to its prosperity. We suggest that some design’s creation processes as well as its market may be value-neutral.
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