Family support during childhood as a predictor of mate retention and kin care in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: an exploratory study.

Introduction: Experiences during development help to explain behavior expression in adulthood. Aims: In this study, we explored how unpredictability and harshness experienced during childhood may have impacted the occurrence of reproductive milestones in adulthood and the expression of fundamental motives related to self-protection, disease avoidance, mate seeking, mate retention, and kin care (children/family) during the pandemic. Methods: This was an exploratory study with 438 participants. Through the administration of online questionnaires, participants were assessed and categorized based on their childhood experiences, resulting in three groups: low unpredictability, high unpredictability with family support, and high unpredictability without family support. Results: We found that family support experienced during childhood predicts a slow life-history strategy. This involves an emphasis on growth and parenting efforts at the expense reproduction and was relevant even for participants who faced financial unpredictability. During the pandemic, we also observed that mate retention and kin care (family) motives were predominant among individuals who had greater family support during childhood. Discussion: Overall, the findings suggest that unpredictability experienced during childhood is crucial for the development of life-history strategies and the manifestation of fundamental motives in adulthood.

Detection of conspicuous and cryptic food by common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): An evaluation of the importance of color and shape cues.

In primates, the advantage of trichromacy (i.e., color vision expressed by most humans) over dichromacy (i.e., color vision expressed by many colorblind humans) has been linked to the detection of yellowish/reddish targets against a background of mature green leaves. Nevertheless, mostly because of studies conducted in humans, we know that achromatic cues might also play an important role in object identification, particularly when camouflage is involved. For instance, dichromacy favors the detection of camouflaged targets by exploitation of shape cues. The present study sought to evaluate the relative importance of color and shape cues on the detection of food targets by female and male marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Animals were observed with respect to their foraging behavior and the number of food targets captured. We confirmed that females are advantageous in detecting conspicuous food against a green background and revealed that females and males rely on shape cues to segregate cryptic food. Unexpectedly, males outperformed females in cryptic food foraging, while camouflage improved males' (but not females') performance. Here we show that dichromats could potentially benefit from a better segregation of green natural targets (e.g., immature fruits, green insects, and gum trees) when viewed against a green dappled background.

Male Mating Expectations in Brazilian and American Samples.

This study aims to investigate assortative mating based on mate value from male perspective. Male participants (132 Brazilian and 106 American) evaluated hypothetical "stimulus" males described in terms of physical attractiveness, social skills, and social status (each varied in high or low levels). Participants rated each stimulus and each stimulus' preferred mating partner on nine traits. The results showed that (1) positive assortative mating was expected in romantic relationships; (2) the stimulus ratings did not vary independently, suggesting that mate value is the result of the interaction of the characteristics of individuals; and (3) that participants expected physically attractive and healthier female partners to pair with high-status male stimuli. The American and Brazilian mating expectations were similar, minor differences indicate that Brazilian participants considered men with high levels of social skills to be more ambitious and intelligent; American participants expected men of high status to be healthier; Brazilians expect men of high status to have more attractive faces, while Americans expected these men to possess more attractive bodies; and Brazilian participants assigned more attractive bodies to men of lower status. These differences reflect the influence of economic and cultural factors on the local environment. The study contributes to the understanding of the construction of market value and reveals that male expectations are in line with human mating preferences. The investigation of mating expectations can be a rich approach to investigate socio-cultural aspects that are related to mating in different cultures.

Influence of Sexual Genotype and Gender Self-Perception on Sociosexuality and Self-Esteem among Transgender People.

Empirical data from studies with both heterosexual and homosexual individuals have consistently indicated different tendencies in mating behavior. However, transgenders' data are often overlooked. This exploratory study compared levels of sociosexuality and self-esteem between transgenders and non-transgender (cisgender) individuals. The aim was to verify whether either sexual genotype or gender self-perception had more influence on the examined variables in transgenders. Correlations between self-esteem and sociosexuality levels were also investigated. The sample consisted of 120 Brazilian individuals (51 transgenders) from both sexes. Sociosexuality scores indicated mostly sex-typical patterns for transgenders of both sexes across the construct's three dimensions (behavior, attitude, and desire), except for female-to-male transgenders' behavioral sociosexuality. Unique associations between the dimensions of sociosexuality were found for transgender participants. No differences in self-esteem were observed and no correlations between self-esteem and sociosexuality were found. The results suggest that transgenders' sociosexuality is largely influenced by their sexual genotype despite their incongruent gender self-perception and that the relationships between behavior, attitude, and sociosexual desire are different from those observed in cisgenders.

Nível Socioeconômico e Autopercepção como Parceiro Romântico no Ambiente Universitário / Nivel Económico y Auto-Percepción como una Pareja Romántica en el Ámbito Universitario / Socioeconomic Level and Self-Perception as a Romantic Partner in a University Setting

Resumo De acordo com a perspectiva da Psicologia Evolucionista, existem diferentes padrões de preferência sexual para homens e mulheres. Sabe-se que essas preferências são moduladas pela autopercepção dos indivíduos e que o contexto, por sua vez, pode afetar a mesma. O presente trabalho buscou verificar se o contexto econômico, indicado pelo poder aquisitivo, afeta a autopercepção como parceiro romântico. Para isso, 316 universitários responderam um questionário indicando sua classificação socioeconômica e autopercepção como parceiro romântico. Os resultados indicaram que a autopercepção da condição financeira diferiu de acordo com o nível socioeconômico. Contudo, diferença com relação à percepção da atratividade geral foi maior em homens de classe A comparado a mulheres da mesma classe, enquanto que para a característica determinado/trabalhador houve diferença entre sexos, na qual mulheres avaliaram-se melhor que homens. Os resultados dão suporte à Teoria do Pluralismo Estratégico ao indicar que o ambiente pode influenciar o processo de seleção de parceiros por aumentar a atratividade geral percebida de homens de maior nível socioeconômico em relação aos outros grupos da amostra. Além disso, os resultados sugerem a desigualdade entre os sexos na autopercepção como parceiro romântico.

Resumen De acuerdo con la perspectiva de la Psicología Evolutiva, hay diferentes estándares de preferencias sexuales para hombres y mujeres. Se sabe que estas preferencias son moduladas por la autopercepción de la persona y el contexto, a su vez, puede afectar a la autopercepción. Este estudio buscó determinar si el contexto económico, indicado por el poder adquisitivo afecta a la autopercepción como pareja romántica. Para tal, 316 estudiantes respondieron a un cuestionario indicando su clasificación socioeconómica y la autopercepción como pareja romántica. Los resultados indicaron que la autopercepción de la condición financiera difiere según el nivel socioeconómico. Sin embargo, las diferencias en cuanto a la percepción del atractivo general fue mayor en hombres de classe A en comparación con las mujeres de la misma clase, mientras que para la característica determinado/trabajador hubo diferencias entre los sexos, en la que mujeres calificaron a sí mismas mejor que los hombres. Los resultados dan soporte a la Teoría del Pluralismo Estratégico al indicar que el ambiente puede influenciar el proceso de selección de parejas por aumentar el atractivo general percibido de hombres de mayor nivel socioeconómico en relación a los otros grupos de la muestra. Además, los resultados sugieren la desigualdad entre los sexos en la autopercepción como pareja romántica.

Abstract From an Evolutionary Psychology perspective, men and women exhibit different sexual preferences. These preferences are modulated by the self-perception of individuals, which may also be affected by context. The present study sought to determine whether economic context, as indicated by purchasing power, affects self-perception as a romantic partner. To that end, 316 university students completed a questionnaire containing questions on socioeconomic status and self-perception as a romantic partner. The results indicated that self-perceived financial situation differed according to socioeconomic level. However, the difference in perceived general attractiveness was higher in class A men than in women from the same economic class, while for the determined/hardworking trait, there was a difference between sexes, in which women perceived that they were better than men. The results support the theory of strategic pluralism, showing that the environment can influence the partner selection process by increasing the general attractiveness perceived by men in the highest economic class (A) compared to the other groups in the sample. Moreover, the results suggest inequality between the sexes in terms of self-perception as a romantic partner.

Global Study of Social Odor Awareness.

Olfaction plays an important role in human social communication, including multiple domains in which people often rely on their sense of smell in the social context. The importance of the sense of smell and its role can however vary inter-individually and culturally. Despite the growing body of literature on differences in olfactory performance or hedonic preferences across the globe, the aspects of a given culture as well as culturally universal individual differences affecting odor awareness in human social life remain unknown. Here, we conducted a large-scale analysis of data collected from 10 794 participants from 52 study sites from 44 countries all over the world. The aim of our research was to explore the potential individual and country-level correlates of odor awareness in the social context. The results show that the individual characteristics were more strongly related than country-level factors to self-reported odor awareness in different social contexts. A model including individual-level predictors (gender, age, material situation, education, and preferred social distance) provided a relatively good fit to the data, but adding country-level predictors (Human Development Index, population density, and average temperature) did not improve model parameters. Although there were some cross-cultural differences in social odor awareness, the main differentiating role was played by the individual differences. This suggests that people living in different cultures and different climate conditions may still share some similar patterns of odor awareness if they share other individual-level characteristics.

Service quality in public health clinics: perceptions of users and health professionals.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the expectations and quality gaps in services provided at city public health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil, from the perspective of patients and healthcare service providers. Design/methodology/approach The research sample consisted of 1,200 patients who used public health services and 265 providers - doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists and managers at three health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil. A scale with 25 health service attributes was used in data collection. Summary statistics and t-test were used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that the providers think that users have lower levels of expectations than those indicated by the users in all attributes. Providers and users have the most approximate insights into what attributes are considered most important: explanations, level of knowledge and attention dispensed by health professionals. Users and providers perceived similar quality gaps for most of the attributes. The gaps were statistically the same, when comparing the mean quality shortcomings by means of a Student's test, considering a significance level of 5 percent, obtained independently by the manifestation of users and providers. Research limitations/implications The results reveal only a photograph of the moment. The study did not consider the differences that may exist between groups with different income levels, genders or age groups. A qualitative study could improve the understanding of the differences and coincidences of the diverse points of views. A more advanced research could even study possibilities so that health managers could promote changes in the service, some of them low cost, as the health professionals training for contact with patients. Practical implications The evaluation of the service quality complemented by the matrix of opportunities, importance × quality gaps generates information to help make decisions in the rational allocation of available resources and improvement of the quality of the service delivered to patients. Besides, it offers a focus to prioritize specific actions. Originality/value It is important to compare the perceptions of service quality between patients and the healthcare service providers who work in direct contact with them. The managers can smooth out these differences and ensure, over time, customer satisfaction. In this study, providers were asked to express what they think about the expectations of patients and about their own service performance delivered. Thus, not only the traditional gap 5 was measured, but it was also possible to evaluate the distance between what providers think that patients need and their actual needs.

Influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão da neofobia alimentar / Influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior

Resumo O estudo objetivou avaliar a influência da formação acadêmica em Nutrição na expressão do comportamento alimentar neofóbico. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado com 247 universitários de ambos os sexos, com idade média de 24,6 ± 6,8 anos, matriculados no primeiro e no último ano de graduação em Nutrição e em outros cursos superiores da área de ciência da saúde. Foi avaliado o grau de neofobia alimentar através da Escala de Neofobia Alimentar associada a uma medida comportamental, obtida a partir da escolha entre alimentos conhecidos ou desconhecidos. De acordo com os resultados, os estudantes que estavam o início do curso de Nutrição apresentaram maiores escores de neofobia alimentar do que os do final do curso. No entanto, essa diferença não foi observada quando se comparou com os estudantes ingressantes e concluintes de outros cursos de graduação. Já na avaliação comportamental, foi visto que a maior parte dos estudantes concluintes do curso de Nutrição escolheu a preparação desconhecida, enquanto que nos demais grupos a maioria optou pela conhecida. Os resultados sugerem que a formação acadêmica em Nutrição pode ter influência sobre a expressão da neofobia alimentar.

Abstract This study sought to evaluate the influence of academic training in nutrition on the incidence of neophobic feeding behavior. It is a cross-sectional study conducted with 247 students, of both sexes and mean age of 24.6 ± 6.8 years, enrolled in the first and last year of the undergraduate course in nutrition and other higher education courses in the area of health science. The level of food neophobia was evaluated through the Food Neophobia Scale associated with a behavioral measure obtained from the choice between known or unknown food. In accordance with the results, the students who were embarking on the nutrition course had higher food neophobia scores than the students nearing the end of the course. However, this difference was not observed when compared with freshmen and seniors studying in other courses. In the behavioral assessment, it was seen that most of the seniors from the nutrition course chose the unknown preparation, while in the other groups the majority chose the known preparation. The results suggest that academic training in Nutrition may have an influence on the incidence of food neophobia.

Intra-sex Variation in Human Mating Strategies: Different People, Different Tactics.

Several studies have demonstrated that men and women exhibit different romantic preferences, which align with the patterns predicted by sexual strategies theory. It is also assumed that the mate's value is a central factor in determining an individual's sexual strategy. Thus, the current study was developed to investigate whether intra-sex variation exists in the ideal romantic preferences of both genders and whether these preferences are associated with self-perception. To investigate these questions, cluster analyses were performed on the descriptions of ideal mates for short- and long-term relationships given by 366 Brazilian undergraduates (145 men and 221 women). Subsequently, comparisons were made between the lists of self-perceived attributes related to reproduction generated by the resulting groups. The results suggest that males and females use different mating tactics for short-term mating and that males use different tactics for long-term mating. Among men, the mating tactics observed seem to be related to male mate value and their tactics changed when they described ideal short- and long-term partners. Women's results showed different preference patterns in short-term assessments but minor differences were observed between them in terms of female mate value. For long-term relationships, female patterns were less distinct, indicating a single preference pattern. These findings indicate that a number of different tactics may be clustered together in investigations that address ideal preferences, and that studies of mate preferences must consider individual self-perceptions.

Mate choice in adolescence: idealizing romantic partners / Escolha de parceiro na adolescência: idealizando parceiros românticos / Selección de pareja en la adolescencia: idealizando las parejas románticas

A number of studies suggest a universal pattern for mate choice preferences in humans, with striking sex differences. Filling a gap in the study of mate choice, we identified relevant characteristics in potential mates during adolescence and assessed their level of importance. Our samples were made up of 467 Brazilian students, and by using an open questionnaire and a Likert scale, we observed sex differences and the assessments of the degree of importance for some factors. However, similarities between the sexes also emerged in our analysis. The use of an open questionnaire allowed us to update the list of traits considered important by adolescents during mate choice, as well as to adapt the instrument that evaluates the importance of these traits to the vocabulary and preferences of adolescents, thus contributing to the understanding of adolescent reproductive behavior...

Vários estudos sugerem um padrão universal para as preferências na escolha de parceiros em humanos e diferenças sexuais marcantes. Preenchendo uma lacuna no estudo da escolha de parceiros, nós identificamos características relevantes em parceiros em potencial durante a adolescência e avaliamos o nível de importância das mesmas. Nossas amostras foram compostas por 467 estudantes brasileiros e, através do uso de um questionário aberto e de uma escala Likert, nós observamos as diferenças sexuais e as avaliações do grau de importância para alguns fatores. No entanto, similaridades entre os sexos também emergiram durante as análises. O uso de um questionário aberto permitiu uma atualização na lista de traços considerados importantes pelos adolescentes durante a escolha de parceiro, e adaptar o instrumento que avalia a importância desses traços ao vocabulário e à preferências dos adolescentes, contribuindo com a compreensão do comportamento reprodutivo dos mesmos...

Varios estudios sugieren un criterio universal de preferencias en la selección de pareja en humanos y marcadas diferencias entre los sexos. Llenando un vacío en el estudio de la selección de pareja, identificamos las características relevantes de las parejas potenciales durante la adolescencia y evaluamos el nivel de importancia de las mismas. Nuestras muestras se han compuesto por 467 estudiantes brasileños, y mediante el uso de un cuestionario abierto y una escala Likert, observamos diferencias entre los sexos y las evaluaciones del grado de importancia atribuida a algunos factores. Sin embargo, similitudes entre los sexos también surgieron durante el análisis. El uso de un cuestionario abierto permitió una actualización en la lista de características consideradas importantes por los adolescentes durante la selección de pareja, y adaptar el instrumento para la evaluación de la importancia de estos rasgos en el vocabulario y hacia las preferencias de los adolescentes, contribuyendo a la comprensión del comportamiento reproductivo de los mismos...

Mate choice in adolescence: idealizing romantic partners / Escolha de parceiro na adolescência: idealizando parceiros românticos / Selección de pareja en la adolescencia: idealizando las parejas románticas

A number of studies suggest a universal pattern for mate choice preferences in humans, with striking sex differences. Filling a gap in the study of mate choice, we identified relevant characteristics in potential mates during adolescence and assessed their level of importance. Our samples were made up of 467 Brazilian students, and by using an open questionnaire and a Likert scale, we observed sex differences and the assessments of the degree of importance for some factors. However, similarities between the sexes also emerged in our analysis. The use of an open questionnaire allowed us to update the list of traits considered important by adolescents during mate choice, as well as to adapt the instrument that evaluates the importance of these traits to the vocabulary and preferences of adolescents, thus contributing to the understanding of adolescent reproductive behavior.(AU)

Vários estudos sugerem um padrão universal para as preferências na escolha de parceiros em humanos e diferenças sexuais marcantes. Preenchendo uma lacuna no estudo da escolha de parceiros, nós identificamos características relevantes em parceiros em potencial durante a adolescência e avaliamos o nível de importância das mesmas. Nossas amostras foram compostas por 467 estudantes brasileiros e, através do uso de um questionário aberto e de uma escala Likert, nós observamos as diferenças sexuais e as avaliações do grau de importância para alguns fatores. No entanto, similaridades entre os sexos também emergiram durante as análises. O uso de um questionário aberto permitiu uma atualização na lista de traços considerados importantes pelos adolescentes durante a escolha de parceiro, e adaptar o instrumento que avalia a importância desses traços ao vocabulário e à preferências dos adolescentes, contribuindo com a compreensão do comportamento reprodutivo dos mesmos.(AU)

Varios estudios sugieren un criterio universal de preferencias en la selección de pareja en humanos y marcadas diferencias entre los sexos. Llenando un vacío en el estudio de la selección de pareja, identificamos las características relevantes de las parejas potenciales durante la adolescencia y evaluamos el nivel de importancia de las mismas. Nuestras muestras se han compuesto por 467 estudiantes brasileños, y mediante el uso de un cuestionario abierto y una escala Likert, observamos diferencias entre los sexos y las evaluaciones del grado de importancia atribuida a algunos factores. Sin embargo, similitudes entre los sexos también surgieron durante el análisis. El uso de un cuestionario abierto permitió una actualización en la lista de características consideradas importantes por los adolescentes durante la selección de pareja, y adaptar el instrumento para la evaluación de la importancia de estos rasgos en el vocabulario y hacia las preferencias de los adolescentes, contribuyendo a la comprensión del comportamiento reproductivo de los mismos.(AU)

Romantic preferences in Brazilian undergraduate students: from the short term to the long term.

A number of studies have described different preference patterns typically found for men and women when choosing romantic mates. These vary according to the involvement level expected in the relationship. Despite the number of investigations on the topic, one must be careful not to generalize because most studies use samples composed of North American university undergraduates. This study sought to determine if the preference patterns typically found in other countries also occur among Brazilian undergraduates. The importance of characteristics and modifications in preference patterns under gradually restrictive conditions was also investigated. In general, the results obtained suggest that the preferences found in a number of countries also occur in Brazil. In short-term relationships, men prioritize physical attributes, whereas personal traits gain importance when involvement increases. Women in short-term relationships value physical and personal traits, whereas in the long term, they emphasize personal characteristics and their mate's desire to acquire resources. Resource-related traits were less important than the other traits, and were more important for women than for men.