New Open Access article added: “Thinking avant la lettre: A Review of 4E Cognition” by James Carney. This article was published in ESIC 4.1 (2020).
An Infectious Curiosity: Morbid Curiosity and Media Preferences During a Pandemic
In this study conducted during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, I explored how trait morbid curiosity was related to interest in 1) factual information about Coronavirus that was specifically morbid, 2) general factual information about Coronavirus, 3) pandemic and virus genres of films and TV shows, and 4) genres of film and TV shows that center around threat more broadly. Participants (n = 125) who scored high in morbid curiosity reported increased interest, compared to usual, in pandemic/virus genres as well as horror and thriller genres. Morbidly curious participants were also more interested specifically in morbid information about Coronavirus. Furthermore, disgust sensitivity was unrelated to these preferences. These results provide initial evidence that trait morbid curiosity can predict particular media preferences in the face of a real threat, and that morbid curiosity may reflect an adaptive predisposition in some individuals toward learning about the dangerous and disgusting aspects of a threat.
The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out
New Open Access article added: “The Psychology, Geography, and Architecture of Horror: How Places Creep Us Out” by Francis T. McAndrew. This article will be published in ESIC 4.1 (2020), but is availabe now on the ESIC website.
William E. Cain's Review of American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives by Judith Saunders
New Open Access article added: American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives by Judith Saunders, reviewed by William E. Cain
Religion, Evolution, and the Basis of Institutions: The Institutional Cognition Model of Religion
New Open Access article added: “Religion, Evolution, and the Basis of Institutions: The Institutional Cognition Model of Religion” by Connor Wood and John H. Shaver
The Appeal of the Primal Leader: Human Evolution and Donald J. Trump
New Open Access article added: “The Appeal of the Primal Leader: Human Evolution and Donald J. Trump” by Dan P. McAdams (Northwestern University)
A Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Beliefs about Human Nature, Culture, and Science
New open access article added: “A Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Beliefs about Human Nature, Culture, and Science” by Joseph Carroll (University of Missouri, St. Louis), John A. Johnson (Pennsylvania State University), Catherine Salmon (University of Redlands in California), Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen (Aarhus University), Mathias Clasen (Aarhus University), and Emelie Jonsson (University of Gothenburg)
Why We Need a Journal with the Title "Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture"
New Open Access articled added: “Why We Need a Journal with the Title Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture" by Joseph Carroll (University of Missouri, St. Louis)