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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Biopsychosocial Interpretation Of The Function Of Religion Evolutionary Perspectives, Jamesian Principles, And Consequential Effects, Austin Avison Apr 2020

A Biopsychosocial Interpretation Of The Function Of Religion Evolutionary Perspectives, Jamesian Principles, And Consequential Effects, Austin Avison

Student Scholars Day Oral Presentations

This article seeks to assess the psychological role in which religion plays within human emotion, behavior, and mental processes. The aims of this research are to provide a psychological oriented basis for interpreting the function of religion within human operation and interaction. First, by incorporating contributions that have been made within the subfield of evolutionary psychology in assessing the evolutionary and adaptive basis in which religious cognition and experience emerged. Further, by addressing the theoretical contributions made within Terror Management Theory in accounting for a psychological function that religion serves. Third, by incorporating the ideas of William James in providing …


Does The Sex Difference In Competitiveness Decrease In Selective Sub-Populations? A Test With Intercollegiate Distance Runners, Robert O. Deaner, Aaron Lowen, William Rogers, Eric Saksa Apr 2015

Does The Sex Difference In Competitiveness Decrease In Selective Sub-Populations? A Test With Intercollegiate Distance Runners, Robert O. Deaner, Aaron Lowen, William Rogers, Eric Saksa

Funded Articles

Sex differences in some preferences and motivations are well established, but it is unclear whether they persist in selective sub-populations, such as expert financial decision makers, top scientists, or elite athletes. We addressed this issue by studying competitiveness in 1,147 varsity intercollegiate distance runners. As expected, across all runners, men reported greater competitiveness with two previously validated instruments, greater competitiveness on a new elite competitiveness scale, and greater training volume, a known correlate of competitiveness. Among faster runners, the sex difference decreased for one measure of competitiveness but did not decrease for the two other competitiveness measures or either measure …


You Can’T Teach Speed: Sprinters Falsify The Deliberate Practice Model Of Expertise, Michael P. Lombardo, Robert O. Deaner Jun 2014

You Can’T Teach Speed: Sprinters Falsify The Deliberate Practice Model Of Expertise, Michael P. Lombardo, Robert O. Deaner

Funded Articles

Many scientists agree that expertise requires both innate talent and proper training. Nevertheless, the highly influential deliberate practice model (DPM) of expertise holds that talent does not exist or makes a negligible contribution to performance. It predicts that initial performance will be unrelated to achieving expertise and that 10 years of deliberate practice is necessary.We tested these predictions in the domain of sprinting. In Studies 1 and 2 we reviewed biographies of 15 Olympic champions and the 20 fastest American men in U.S. history. In all documented cases, sprinters were exceptional prior to initiating training, and most reached world class …


Sex Differences In Sports Across 50 Societies, Robert O. Deaner, Brandt A. Smith Jan 2012

Sex Differences In Sports Across 50 Societies, Robert O. Deaner, Brandt A. Smith

Peer Reviewed Articles

Sports have been frequently explored in cross-cultural studies, yet scant attention has been paid to female participation. Here we coded the occurrence of sports and related activities for males and females in the societies comprising the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) probability sample. We then tested several predictions derived from evolutionary theory. As predicted, in all 50 societies with documented sports, there were more male sports than female sports; hunting and combat sports were almost exclusively male activities; and the sex difference in sports was greater in patriarchal than in nonpatriarchal societies. These results show that a robust sex difference …