Does subliminal exposure to sexual stimuli have the same effects on men and women?

Three studies explored gender differences in explicit and implicit components of sexual arousal following brief exposure to a sexual stimulus. Whereas Study 1 assessed reports of sexual arousal following subliminal exposure to a sexual or a neutral picture, Studies 2 and 3 examined the effects of the same priming procedure on accessibility of sex-related thoughts assessed with a pictorial judgment task and a lexical decision task. The subliminal sexual prime did not have an effect on men's reports of sexual arousal, but caused women to report lower levels of sexual arousal. In contrast, the same subliminal sexual prime led to higher accessibility of sex-related thoughts in both men and women. It is therefore suggested that the subliminal sexual prime causes women to activate sex-related mental contents but to experience the result as somewhat aversive.     

The Convergence Between Outreach and Financial Performance in Mediterranean MFIs: A Panel Data Analysis

There is a long-standing debate on the relationship between outreach and financial performance in the microfinance institutions (MFIs). Although previous researches have reported contradictory results, many of these studies suffer from problems of misspecified model and/or restricted data. In this paper, we employ a static panel data analysis to empirically examine the impact of outreach on financial performance for a sample of 16 Mediterranean MFIs over the 2001–2008 period. Our evidence implies, first that the non-governmental organizations commercial viability increases with average loan size. Second, this commercial viability also increases with the number of outstanding loans per women. Finally, neither targeting the poor nor targeting women affect the repayment default.     

No Contagion,Only Interdependence During the US Sub-Primes Crisis

In this paper, we have interested to testing the contagion exists that is caused by the sub-prime crisis, in order to distinguish between the cases of interdependences and “shift contagion” during this crisis. The analysis was conducted on a sample of four highly transition countries: Brazil, Russia, India and china, and the market source of crisis, taking into consideration the index as an aggregate indicator of financial market. The study of contagion is based on the tests of adjusted correlation coefficient and the non-linear error correction models. Indeed, these techniques reject the contagion hypothesis between these markets in order to conclude “no contagion, only interdependence”.     

Nonverbal Communication of Similarity Via the Torso: It’s in the Bag

The human body plays a central role in nonverbal communication, conveying attitudes, personality, and values during social interactions. Three experiments in a large, open classroom setting investigated whether the visibility of torso-located cues affects nonverbal communication of similarity. In Experiments 1 and 2, half the participants wore a black plastic bag over their torso. Participants interacted with an unacquainted same-sex individual selected from a large class who was also wearing (or also not wearing) a bag. Experiment 3 added a clear bag condition, in which visual torso cues were not obscured. Across experiments, black bag-wearing participants selected partners who were less similar to them on attitudes, behaviors, and personality compared to the bag-less—and clear bag—participants. Nonverbal cues in the torso communicate information about similarity of attitudes, behavior, and personality; the center of the body plays a surprisingly central role in early-stage person perception and attraction.     

The innate code of charisma

We argue that the sources of charisma are innate and can be explained as part of unique human cultural transmission mechanisms. Recently, developmental models and experiments have been presented, for example, natural pedagogy theory (Csibra & Gergely, 2006, 2009, 2011) and over-imitation studies (Lyons, Young, & Keil, 2007; McGuigan, 2013). Inspired by these, we maintain that certain universal principles of conspicuous influence are embraced with very little critical thinking, on the basis of certain signals the charismatic leader radiates in a particular communicative manner (“evolutionary syntax”). We point out expressions of these principles in charismatic leadership and propose a conceptual framework that can advance the formulation of a general theory on charisma anchored in evolutionary processes.     

The primary foundations of followership

The phenomenon of followership has been increasingly discussed in recent years, and is analyzed mainly through psychological theories. In this article followership is discussed from an evolutionary perspective. The main argument is that the origins of followership are rooted in evolutionary foundations and its visible manifestations result from responses to signals sensed as associated with these primary foundations. Two kinds of signals are the “building blocks” of followership: (1) universal signals, indicating competence and care; (2) symbolic signals, representing group culture. The implications of the suggested approach for a theory of followership are discussed.     

Kill me a mosquito and I will build a state: political economy and the socio-technicalities of Jewish colonization in Palestine, 1922–1940

Theory and Society - Scholars see Israel as a settler state, comparable with North American, South African and Oceanian cases. But how was Jewish settlement-colonization in pre-Israel Palestine...