PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Political motivations may have evolutionary links to physical strength

2013-05-15
(Press-News.org) Men's upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The principal investigators of the research — psychological scientists Michael Bang Petersen of Aarhus University and Daniel Sznycer of University of California, Santa Barbara — believe that the link may reflect psychological traits that evolved in response to our early ancestral environments and continue to influence behavior today.

"While many think of politics as a modern phenomenon, it has — in a sense — always been with our species," says Petersen.

In the days of our early ancestors, decisions about the distribution of resources weren't made in courthouses or legislative offices, but through shows of strength. With this in mind, Petersen, Sznycer and colleagues hypothesized that upper-body strength — a proxy for the ability to physically defend or acquire resources — would predict men's opinions about economic redistribution.

The researchers collected data on bicep size, socioeconomic status, and support for economic redistribution from hundreds of people in the United States, Argentina, and Denmark.

In line with their hypotheses, the data revealed that wealthy men with high upper-body strength were less likely to support redistribution, while less wealthy men of the same strength were more likely to support it.

"Despite the fact that the United States, Denmark and Argentina have very different welfare systems, we still see that — at the psychological level — individuals reason about welfare redistribution in the same way," says Petersen. "In all three countries, physically strong males consistently pursue the self-interested position on redistribution."

Men with low upper-body strength, on the other hand, were less likely to support their own self-interest. Wealthy men of this group showed less resistance to redistribution, while poor men showed less support.

"Our results demonstrate that physically weak males are more reluctant than physically strong males to assert their self-interest — just as if disputes over national policies were a matter of direct physical confrontation among small numbers of individuals, rather than abstract electoral dynamics among millions," says Petersen.

Interestingly, the researchers found no link between upper-body strength and redistribution opinions among women. Petersen argues that this is likely due to the fact that, over the course of evolutionary history, women had less to gain, and also more to lose, from engaging in direct physical aggression.

Together, the results indicate that an evolutionary perspective may help to illuminate political motivations, at least those of men.

"Many previous studies have shown that people's political views cannot be predicted by standard economic models," Petersen explains. "This is among the first studies to show that political views may be rational in another sense, in that they're designed by natural selection to function in the conditions recurrent over human evolutionary history."

### Co-authors on this research include Aaron Sell, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This research was supported by a grant from the Danish Research Council and a Director's Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health.

For more information about this study, please contact: Michael Bang Petersen at michael@ps.au.dk or Daniel Sznycer at dsznycer1@gmail.com.

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "The Ancestral Logic of Politics: Upper-Body Strength Regulates Men's Assertion of Self-Interest Over Economic Redistribution" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New research shows what raises and lowers blood pressure: Cell phones, salt and saying om

2013-05-15
San Francisco, Calif. May 15, 2013 – Considered the "silent killer," high blood pressure affects approximately one billion people worldwide, including one in three adults in the United States. From May 15 – 18, 2013, members of the medical community from across the globe gather at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) in San Francisco to discuss the epidemic. During the conference, more than 200 new studies about hypertension will be shared, with the goal of increasing the understanding of hypertension and one day curing it altogether. Among ...

Finnish researchers to provide solutions for energy-efficient repairs in Moscow

2013-05-15
There are many old and decrepit residential buildings in Moscow in need of refurbishment. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed three repair concepts for improving the energy efficiency of both buildings and entire residential districts while also reducing their environmental impact. Calculations show that it would be possible to reduce heating demand in buildings by up to 70%. Even minor repairs can achieve significant energy savings. Most of the residential buildings in Moscow were built after the Second World War. Many of them are in poor shape and ...

Virginia Tech announces 2013 football helmet ratings; 1 more added to the 5 star mark

2013-05-15
Virginia Tech released today the results of its 2013 adult football helmet ratings, designed to identify differences between the abilities of helmets to reduce the risk of concussion. A total of four helmets achieved a 5 star mark, which is the highest rating awarded by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings™. The newly redesigned Xenith X2 joined the Riddell 360, Rawlings Quantum Plus, and Riddell Revolution Speed as the only helmets with a 5 star rating. Two additional new helmet models introduced this year, the SG Adult Helmet and the Schutt Vengeance, were rated as ...

European winter weather harder to forecast in certain years

2013-05-15
Weather forecasters have a tougher job predicting winter conditions over Europe in some years over others, concludes a new study carried out by the National Oceanography Centre. The study revealed that the relationship between our winter weather and the strength of the airflow coming in from the Atlantic – one of the factors used by forecasters to predict the weather – is stronger in some years than others. The results were recently published in the Royal Meteorological Society publication Weather. Co-authors Drs Joël Hirschi and Bablu Sinha from the National Oceanography ...

Cells must use their brakes moderately for effective speed control

2013-05-15
How cells regulate their own function by "accelerating and braking" is important basic knowledge when new intelligent medicines are being developed, or when plant cells are tweaked to produce more bioenergy. In a study published by Nature Communications 14 May, researchers at Uppsala and Umeå universities show a model of how cells' regulatory systems work. All living cells have a regulatory system similar to what can be found in today's smartphones. Just like our phones process a large amount of information that we feed them, cells continuously process information about ...

Body fat hardens arteries after middle age

2013-05-15
Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed. In young people, blood vessels appear to be able to compensate for the effects of obesity. But after middle age, this adaptability is lost, and arteries become progressively stiffer as body fat rises – potentially increasing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The researchers suggest that the harmful effects of body fat may be related to the total number of years that a person is overweight in adulthood. Further research is needed to find out when the effects of ...

No idle chatter: Study finds malaria parasites 'talk' to each other

2013-05-15
VIDEO: Professor Alan Cowman (left) and Dr. Neta Regev-Rudzki from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, have made the surprise discovery that malaria parasites can 'talk' to each... Click here for more information. Melbourne scientists have made the surprise discovery that malaria parasites can 'talk' to each other – a social behaviour to ensure the parasite's survival and improve its chances of being transmitted to other humans. The finding could ...

How teenagers cope with inner-city risks

2013-05-15
With concerns often expressed about youth crime and violence in the UK, researchers have been investigating what young people really think about living in an inner-city neighbourhood that has high levels of deprivation, crime and gang activity. The results revealed that to overcome concerns and cope with dangerous situations, girls tried to avoid or escape risky encounters - although for some this conflicted with a desire to be independent, glamorous and to seek out boyfriends. Boys, on the other hand, acted and talked tough to prove their street credentials but were ...

Homeowners do not increase consumption despite their property rising in value

2013-05-15
Although the value of our property might rise, we do not on that account increase our consumption. This is the conclusion by economists from University of Copenhagen and University of Oxford in new research which is contrary to the widely believed assumption amongst economists that if there occurs a rise in house prices then a natural rise in consumption will follow. The results of the study is published in the scientific journal 'The Economic Journal'. "We argue that leading economists should not wholly be focussed on monitoring the housing market. Economists are closely ...

European Research Infrastructures help to solve air quality issues

2013-05-15
This news release is available in German. Brussels. Scientists have advocated for tightening the Air Quality Directive and expand research on air quality and climate change. Only appropriate investments in research can provide a solid basis for decision making in these areas that have major health and economic consequences for Europe's citizens. In 2013, the European Commission's air policy is reviewed, with a focus on finding ways to improve the quality of the air Europeans breathe. Under the title of „Frontline Research for Improved Air Quality and Climate Action", ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Illegal shark product trade evident in Australia and New Zealand

New search tool brings 21% better accuracy for robotics developers

New model extracts sentence-level proof to verify events, boosting fact-checking accuracy for journalists, legal teams, and policymakers

Efficient carbon integration of CO₂ in propane aromatization over acidic zeolites

FPGA-accelerated AI for demultiplexing multimode fiber towards next-generation communications

Vitamin D3 nanoemulsion significantly improves core symptoms in children with autism: A clinical trial

Microfluidic point-of-care device accurately measures bilirubin in blood serum: A pilot study

Amygdalin shows strong binding and stabilizing effects on HER2 receptor: A computational study for breast cancer therapy

Bond behavior of FRP bars in concrete under reversed cyclic loading: an experimental study

Milky Way-like galaxy M83 consumes high-speed clouds

Study: What we learned from record-breaking 2021 heat wave and what we can expect in the future

Transforming treatment outcomes for people with OCD

Damage from smoke and respiratory viruses mitigated in mice via a common signaling pathway

New software tool could help better understand childhood cancer

Healthy lifestyle linked to lower diverticulitis risk, irrespective of genetic susceptibility

Women 65+ still at heightened risk of cervical cancer caused by HPV

‘Inflammatory’ diet during pregnancy may raise child’s diabetes type 1 risk

Effective therapies needed to halt rise in eco-anxiety, says psychology professor

Nature-friendly farming boosts biodiversity and yields but may require new subsidies

Against the odds: Endometriosis linked to four times higher pregnancy rates than other causes of infertility, new study reveals

Microplastics discovered in human reproductive fluids, new study reveals

Family ties and firm performance: How cousin marriage traditions shape informal businesses in Africa

Novel flu vaccine adjuvant improves protection against influenza viruses, study finds

Manipulation of light at the nanoscale helps advance biosensing

New mechanism discovered in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis: YWHAB restriction drives stemness and chemoresistance

New study links blood metabolites and immune cells to increased risk of urolithiasis

Pyruvate identified as a promising therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis by targeting cytosolic phospholipase A2

New insights into the clinical impact of IKBKG mutations: Understanding the mechanisms behind rare immunodeficiency syndromes

Displays, imaging and sensing: New blue fluorophore breaks efficiency records in both solids and solutions

Sugar, the hidden thermostat in plants

[Press-News.org] Political motivations may have evolutionary links to physical strength