Browsing by Author "Stanton, SJ"

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    Corrigendum to " What is the identity of a sports spectator?" [Personality and Individual Differences 52 (2012) 422-427]
    (Personality and Individual Differences, 2012-05-01) Appelbaum, LG; Cain, MS; Darling, EF; Stanton, SJ; Nguyen, MT; Mitroff, SR
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    Dominance, politics, and physiology: voters' testosterone changes on the night of the 2008 United States presidential election.
    (PLoS One, 2009-10-21) Stanton, SJ; Beehner, JC; Saini, EK; Kuhn, CM; LaBar, KS
    BACKGROUND: Political elections are dominance competitions. When men win a dominance competition, their testosterone levels rise or remain stable to resist a circadian decline; and when they lose, their testosterone levels fall. However, it is unknown whether this pattern of testosterone change extends beyond interpersonal competitions to the vicarious experience of winning or losing in the context of political elections. Women's testosterone responses to dominance competition outcomes are understudied, and to date, a clear pattern of testosterone changes in response to winning and losing dominance competitions has not emerged. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study investigated voters' testosterone responses to the outcome of the 2008 United States Presidential election. 183 participants provided multiple saliva samples before and after the winner was announced on Election Night. The results show that male Barack Obama voters (winners) had stable post-outcome testosterone levels, whereas testosterone levels dropped in male John McCain and Robert Barr voters (losers). There were no significant effects in female voters. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The findings indicate that male voters exhibit biological responses to the realignment of a country's dominance hierarchy as if they participated in an interpersonal dominance contest.
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    What is the identity of a sports spectator?
    (Personality and Individual Differences, 2012-02-01) Gregory Appelbaum, L; Cain, MS; Darling, EF; Stanton, SJ; Nguyen, MT; Mitroff, SR
    Despite the prominence of sports in contemporary society, little is known about the identity and personality traits of sports spectators. With a sample of 293 individuals, we examine four broad categories of factors that may explain variability in the reported amount of time spent watching sports. Using individual difference regression techniques, we explore the relationship between sports spectating and physiological measures (e.g., testosterone and cortisol), clinical self-report scales (ADHD and autism), personality traits (e.g., NEO "Big Five"), and pastime activities (e.g., video game playing). Our results indicate that individuals who report higher levels of sports spectating tend to have higher levels of extraversion, and in particular excitement seeking and gregariousness. These individuals also engage more in complementary pastime activities, including participating in sports and exercise activities, watching TV/movies, and playing video games. Notably, no differences were observed in the clinical self-report scales, indicating no differences in reported symptoms of ADHD or autism for spectators and non-spectators. Likewise, no relationship was seen between baseline concentrations of testosterone or cortisol and sports spectating in our sample. These results provide an assessment of the descriptive personality dimensions of frequent sports spectators and provide a basic taxonomy of how these traits are expressed across the population. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.