Nature Human Behaviour最新文献

Polygenic scores (PGS) enable the exploration of pleiotropic effects and genomic dissection of complex traits. Here, in 421,889 individuals with European ancestry from the Million Veteran Program and UK Biobank, we examine how PGS of 17 neuropsychiatric traits are related to membership in 22 broad professional categories. Overall, we find statistically significant but weak (the highest odds ratio is 1.1 per PGS standard deviation) associations between most professional categories and genetic predisposition for at least one neuropsychiatric trait. Secondary analyses in UK Biobank revealed independence of these associations from observed fluid intelligence and sex-specific effects. By leveraging aggregate population trends, we identified patterns in the public interest, such as the mediating effect of education attainment on the association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder PGS with multiple professional categories. However, at the individual level, PGS explained less than 0.5% of the variance of professional membership, and almost none after we adjusted for education and socio-economic status.

People form impressions of one another in a split second from faces. However, people also infer others’ momentary mental states on the basis of context—for example, one might infer that somebody feels encouraged from the fact that they are receiving constructive feedback. How do trait judgements of faces influence these context-based mental state inferences? In this Registered Report, we asked participants to infer the mental states of unfamiliar people, identified by their neutral faces, under specific contexts. To increase generalizability, we representatively sampled all stimuli from inclusive sets using computational methods. We tested four hypotheses: that trait impressions of faces (1) are correlated with subsequent mental state inferences in a range of contexts, (2) alter the dimensional space that underlies mental state inferences, (3) are associated with specific mental state dimensions in this space and (4) causally influence mental state inferences. We found evidence in support of all hypotheses.

Market bubbles emerge when asset prices are driven unsustainably higher than asset values, and shifts in belief burst them. We demonstrate an analogous phenomenon in the case of biomedical knowledge, when promising research receives inflated attention. We introduce a diffusion index that quantifies whether research areas have been amplified within social and scientific bubbles, or have diffused and become evaluated more broadly. We illustrate the utility of our diffusion approach in tracking the trajectories of cardiac stem cell research (a bubble that collapsed) and cancer immunotherapy (which showed sustained growth). We then trace the diffusion of 28,504 subfields in biomedicine comprising nearly 1.9 M papers and more than 80 M citations to demonstrate that limited diffusion of biomedical knowledge anticipates abrupt decreases in popularity. Our analysis emphasizes that restricted diffusion, implying a socio-epistemic bubble, leads to dramatic collapses in relevance and attention accorded to scientific knowledge.

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large parts of Europe. We report genome-wide data for 250 individuals: 178 individuals from whole-cemetery surveys of the Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát, the western LBK site of Nitra Horné Krškany and the western LBK settlement and massacre site of Asparn-Schletz, as well as 48 LBK individuals from 16 other sites and 24 earlier Körös and Starčevo individuals from 17 more sites. Here we show a systematically higher percentage of western hunter-gatherer ancestry in eastern than in western LBK sites, showing that these two distinct LBK groups had different genetic trajectories. We find evidence for patrilocality, with more structure across sites in the male than in the female lines and a higher rate of within-site relatives for males. At Asparn-Schletz we find almost no relatives, showing that the massacred individuals were from a large population, not a small community.

Scientific discoveries often hinge on synthesizing decades of research, a task that potentially outstrips human information processing capacities. Large language models (LLMs) offer a solution. LLMs trained on the vast scientific literature could potentially integrate noisy yet interrelated findings to forecast novel results better than human experts. Here, to evaluate this possibility, we created BrainBench, a forward-looking benchmark for predicting neuroscience results. We find that LLMs surpass experts in predicting experimental outcomes. BrainGPT, an LLM we tuned on the neuroscience literature, performed better yet. Like human experts, when LLMs indicated high confidence in their predictions, their responses were more likely to be correct, which presages a future where LLMs assist humans in making discoveries. Our approach is not neuroscience specific and is transferable to other knowledge-intensive endeavours.

In April 2022, mandatory kilocalorie (kcal) labelling in the out-of-home food sector was introduced as a policy to reduce obesity in England. Here we examined whether the implementation of this policy was associated with a consumer behaviour change. Large out-of-home food sector outlets subject to kcal labelling legislation were visited pre- and post-implementation, and customer exit surveys were conducted with 6,578 customers from 330 outlets. Kcals purchased and consumed, knowledge of purchased kcals and reported noticing and use of kcal labelling were examined. The results suggested that the introduction of the mandatory kcal labelling policy in England was not associated with a significant decrease in self-reported kcals purchased (B = 11.31, P = 0.564, 95% confidence interval (CI) −27.15 to 49.77) or consumed (B = 18.51, P = 0.279, 95% CI −15.01 to 38 52.03). Post-implementation, participants underestimated the energy content of their purchased meal less (B = 61.21, P = 0.002, 95% CI 21.57 to 100.86) and were more likely to report noticing (odds ratio 2.25, P < 0.001, 95% CI 1.84 to 2.73) and using (odds ratio 2.15, P < 0.001, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.85) kcal labelling, which may have wider public health implications.

Users of online platforms, such as social media apps, streaming providers and search engines, are often willing to share their data with researchers, which opens vital avenues for academic research. However, this process is challenging, as many platforms fail to comply with privacy acts and data protection authorities do not adequately enforce them. Platforms and authorities must take action to change this or risk obstructing crucial scientific progress.

Although online platforms offer many benefits (such as access to information, diverse perspectives and social connections), they also pose considerable dangers. The European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have identified multiple risks, which include spreading misinformation, monetizing harmful content and creating ‘rabbit holes’. Together, these risks can increase mental health problems, polarization, radicalization and societal fragmentation.

As one of the fastest-growing sectors in many economies, tourism plays a key role in shaping national economic conditions and growth. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound impacts on tourist behaviour and psychology. Understanding tourists’ behavioural and psychological responses to the pandemic is crucial for tourism businesses to manage and sustain post-COVID-19 tourism recovery. To address whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced tourists’ thoughts and behaviours and the extent to which these changes might persist, we provide a narrative Review of the research on tourist behaviours and the psychological impacts of the pandemic. This Review delves into three themes: tourists’ decision-making behaviour; the psychological impacts of the pandemic on tourists; and tourists’ responses to crisis communication strategies. We argue that crisis communication strategies across sectors, pandemic-induced uncertainties and risks and psychological impacts were the predominant influences on tourists’ travel decisions during the pandemic. We conclude by discussing which changes are likely to be sustained.