What is the relevance of attachment and life history to political values?

Conservatives and liberals have markedly different ideologies. Conservatives, in comparison to liberals, are risk averse and prefer social inequality, traditionally established and familiar in-group values, and familial allegiance. Liberals are risk prone, are open to new views and ways, value equality and out-group relations, and exhibit high independence and self-reliance. We hypothesize that this variation was functional and socially strategic in human evolutionary history. Conservatives, we propose, are familial and in-group specialists, while liberals are out-group specialists. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the different values are caused proximately by attachment style and associated childhood stresses. Accordingly, low avoidant and high secure attachment and associated low childhood stresses ontogenetically generate conservatives, whereas high avoidant and low secure attachment and associated high childhood stresses give rise to liberals. Results from our study of 123 young adults support the hypotheses. We focus on the psychometric scale of conservatism–liberalism but also examine participants' scores on two additional political scales: social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. We also analyze participants' scores on time preference scales and life expectancy to test whether political values are related to future-versus-present life history tradeoffs or participants' perceptions of the past. We found no support for conservatism–liberalism's relationship to a future-versus-present tradeoff. Conservatism–liberalism, however, is related to how one understands the past in ways that support the notion that the degree of childhood stress affects political values.     

The re-enchantment of universal values

In modern societies, universalism has been rejected or criticized by both conservative and reactionary thinkers, and by progressive ones. With the end of colonialism and western hegemony, the criticism has become worldwide and global, the main reproach insisting on the idea of a strong association between universalism, and various forms of domination and exclusion. This article aims to analyse these various criticisms, the intention being not to finish with universal values, but to try and see how they can be rethought.     

Inherent variation in stable isotope values and discrimination factors in two life stages of green turtles

Abstract We examine inherent variation in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values of multiple soft tissues from a population of captive green turtles Chelonia mydas to determine the extent of isotopic variation due to individual differences in physiology. We compare the measured inherent variation in the captive population with the isotopic variation observed in a wild population of juvenile green turtles. Additionally, we measure diet-tissue discrimination factors to determine the offset that occurs between isotope values of the food source and four green turtle tissues. Tissue samples (epidermis, dermis, serum, and red blood cells) were collected from captive green turtles in two life stages (40 large juveniles and 30 adults) at the Cayman Turtle Farm, Grand Cayman, and analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Multivariate normal models were fit to the isotope data, and the Bayesian Information Criterion was used for model selection. Inherent variation and discrimination factors differed among tissues and life stages. Inherent variation was found to make up a small portion of the isotopic variation measured in a wild population. Discrimination factors not only are tissue and life stage dependent but also appear to vary with diet and sea turtle species, thus highlighting the need for appropriate discrimination factors in dietary reconstructions and trophic-level estimations. Our measures of inherent variation will also be informative in field studies employing stable isotope analysis so that differences in diet or habitat are more accurately identified.     

The helix of life

The discovery of DNA's double helix 50 years ago was the founding event of molecular biology. It was also the moment that forged the reputation of two of biology's most compelling figures, no doubt in perpetuity. However, Jim Watson and Francis Crick were not the only players of this outstanding fest whose certain circumstances remain today rather singular.     

The spark of life

The sperm activates the egg to begin developing into an embryo by triggering a wave of intracellular calcium release, which sweeps across the egg like a forest fire. The identity of the signaling molecules that mediate this fundamental event has remained a mystery until recently. Now, new information emerging from the genome projects has made it possible to isolate and characterize the proteins responsible.     

The rhythms of life

A report on the symposium 'Clocks and Rhythms', Cold Spring Harbor, USA, 30 May-4 June 2007.     

The life aquatic

If we want to know for sure whether there was, or still is, life on Mars, we have to send people there.