Their love
Need for Alloparental Care and Attitudes Toward Homosexuals in 58 Countries: Implications for the Kin Selection Hypothesis
Eduard Playà, Lucio Vinicius & Paul Vasey
Evolutionary Psychological Science, December 2017, Pages 345–352
Abstract:
Homosexuality is an evolutionary puzzle. Many theories attempt to explain how a trait undermining individual reproduction can be maintained, but experimental testing of their predictions remains scarce. The kin selection hypothesis (KSH) is an important theoretical framework to account for the evolution of human homosexuality, postulating that its direct cost to reproduction can be offset by inclusive fitness gains through alloparental assistance to kin. Consistent evidence in support of the KSH has only been garnered from research on Samoan fa’afafine (i.e. feminine, same-sex attracted males), whereas research in numerous industrialized societies has repeatedly failed to secure empirical support for the theory. Here, we propose an alternative test of the KSH by investigating how need for alloparental care influences women’s attitudes toward homosexuality (AtH). AtH would influence the likelihood of women receiving alloparental care from homosexual kin. We applied logistic regression analysis to a large dataset (17,295 women in 58 countries) derived from the World Values Survey. As predicted by the KSH, women who are potentially most in need of alloparental support exhibit significantly more positive attitudes toward homosexuals. For single mothers who expressed parental care concerns, each additional child mothered was associated with an increase of 1.24 in their odds of exhibiting positive attitudes toward homosexuals. Our study is the first to provide circumstantial evidence in support of the KSH on a global scale.
Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y
Anthony Bogaert et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
We conducted a direct test of an immunological explanation of the finding that gay men have a greater number of older brothers than do heterosexual men. This explanation posits that some mothers develop antibodies against a Y-linked protein important in male brain development, and that this effect becomes increasingly likely with each male gestation, altering brain structures underlying sexual orientation in their later-born sons. Immune assays targeting two Y-linked proteins important in brain development — protocadherin 11 Y-linked (PCDH11Y) and neuroligin 4 Y-linked (NLGN4Y; isoforms 1 and 2) — were developed. Plasma from mothers of sons, about half of whom had a gay son, along with additional controls (women with no sons, men) was analyzed for male protein-specific antibodies. Results indicated women had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than men. In addition, after statistically controlling for number of pregnancies, mothers of gay sons, particularly those with older brothers, had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than did the control samples of women, including mothers of heterosexual sons. The results suggest an association between a maternal immune response to NLGN4Y and subsequent sexual orientation in male offspring.
Second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), tomboyism, and temperament
Catherine Salmon & Jessica Hehman
Personality and Individual Differences, March 2018, Pages 131-134
Abstract:
This study examines the relationship between 2D:4D, a proxy for levels of prenatal testosterone, and rating oneself as a “tomboy” as well as the relationship between Fisher's hormone-based temperament factors and tomboyism. Salmon (2015) reported a relationship between female erotic fiction preferences and lower 2D:4D ratios in addition to a link between tomboyism and such preferences. The results of the current study indicate that lower 2D:4D ratios are associated with increasing tomboy scores and that tomboyism is associated with higher scores on the testosterone component of Fisher's temperament model as well as a marginal negative association with the estrogen/oxytocin factor. This lends support to Fisher's model as well as documenting the relationship between 2D:4D and tomboyism in a non-clinical population.
Sexual Orientation Concordance And (Un)Happiness About Births
Caroline Sten Hartnett et al.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, December 2017, Pages 213–221
Methods: Data on 5,744 pregnancies ending in births among women aged 15–44 in three waves of the National Survey of Family Growth (2006–2015) were examined. Weighted linear regression models examined the relationship between sexual orientation concordance and women's happiness about a birth. Analyses also explored whether birth intention and male partnership characteristics mediated the relationship, and whether it varied by intention status.
Results: Women who identified as heterosexual but reported same-sex attraction or behavior (categorized as “heterosexual-identified discordant”) were less happy about their births than were women who were exclusively heterosexual (or “heterosexual-identified concordant”). The difference was more than half a point on a scale of 0–10 (coefficient, –0.7). This association was partially explained by the fact that births were less likely to be intended, and that relationships with male partners were less favorable for births, among discordant than among concordant women. Moreover, the happiness gap between concordant and discordant women was larger when births were unwanted (predicted score, 4.9 vs. 4.1) than when they were intended (9.3 vs. 9.1).
Gender Conformity, Perceptions of Shared Power, and Marital Quality in Same- and Different-Sex Marriages
Amanda Pollitt, Brandon Robinson & Debra Umberson
Gender & Society, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research on gender inequality within different-sex marriages shows that women do more unpaid labor than men, and that the perception of inequality influences perceptions of marital quality. Yet research on same-sex couples suggests the importance of considering how gender is relational. Past studies show that same-sex partners share unpaid labor more equally and perceive greater equity than do different-sex partners, and that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are less gender conforming than heterosexuals. However, studies have not considered how gender conformity might shape inequalities and marital quality within same- and different-sex unions. In this study, we analyze dyadic data from both spouses in same- and different-sex marriages to explore how sex of spouse and gender conformity influence perceptions of shared power within the relationship, which, in turn, influences marital quality. Results show that greater gender conformity is related to stronger perceptions of shared power in different-sex and male same-sex couples but not in female same-sex couples. Perceptions of shared power are positively associated with marital quality in all union types. Our findings suggest that maintaining hegemonic masculinity and power inequalities may be salient to marriages with men. In female same-sex couples, gender and its relation to power inequalities may carry less meaning.
I, You, or He: Examining the Impact of Point of View on Narrative Persuasion
Katheryn Christy
Media Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Narratives can be used to persuade individuals to change their attitudes and behaviors, and can be especially effective is in changing attitudes toward individuals that are stigmatized or otherwise labeled as outgroup members. One feature that can influence a story’s persuasive effectiveness is the story’s point of view (POV). This study experimentally investigated the relative impacts of 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-person POVs on attitudes toward, and beliefs about, gay people. Results showed that participants who read the 3rd-person story had significantly more positive attitudes toward gay people than those who read the 1st-person story. In all cases, POV appeared to have no impact upon narrative transportation or identification.
Evaluating Policy Representation with Dynamic MRP Estimates: Direct Democracy and Same-Sex Relationship Policies in the United States
Daniel Lewis & Matthew Jacobsmeier
State Politics & Policy Quarterly, December 2017, Pages 441-464
Abstract:
Does direct democracy strengthen popular control of public policy in the United States? A major challenge in evaluating policy representation is the measurement of state-level public opinion and public policy. Although recent studies of policy responsiveness and congruence have provided improved measures of public opinion using multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) techniques, these analyses are limited by their static nature and cross-sectional design. Issue attitudes, unlike more general political orientations, often vary considerably over time. Unless the dynamics of issue-specific public opinion are appropriately incorporated into the analyses, tests of policy responsiveness and congruence may be misleading. Thus, we assess the degree of policy representation in direct democracy states regarding same-sex relationship recognition policies using dynamic models of policy adoption and congruence that employ dynamic MRP estimates of attitudes toward same-sex marriage. We find that direct democracy institutions increase both policy responsiveness and congruence with issue-specific public opinion.