MonDie

Number of chromosomes depends on the species as well as the cell type. It might be 4 in the example.

Religious books were written by man, the best narcissists ever.

Religion keeps the world divided.

I'm not sure narcissism divides us by creed as much as it divides us by social status. Narcissists appear to have abnormally low Agreeableness, but they have average or slightly above average Openness. On the other hand, racists are characterized by slightly lower Agreeableness and abnormally low Openness.

Narcissists tend to have normal, or perhaps slightly above average, "empathy" skills or social skills, but they use these skills to earn the liking of people whom they can acquire something from, especially people with higher social status. This tendency toward elitism is paired with a tendency to put down people of lower status. Alas, being low status is not the same as being an outsider, although the two are often related.

Edited to add reference with quote. Antognism is just reversed Agreeableness.

A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationships Between the Five-Factor Model and DSM-IV-TR Personality Disorders: A Facet Level Analysis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2614445/

Similarly, pathological bias (e.g., racism) has received some support within the clinical and research literature as a variant of personality disorder (Alarcon et al., 2002; Bell, 2004, 2006). There is currently no representation of prejudice within the DSM-IV-TR but, if one did want to conceptualize prejudice as a maladaptive personality trait, it is again readily represented within the FFM in large part as closed-mindedness toward ideas (along with facets of antagonism; Flynn, 2005). In sum, the failure of the openness to be heavily represented within the DSM personality disorder nomenclatures may say more about a limitation of the DSM than the FFM.

I think religion can be elitist. Many religions have reinforced social classes, for example the caste system that was reinforced by the Vedas but challenged by the Upanishads. Of course the priests belonged to a higher caste. However Siddhartha Guatama Buddha treated "untouchables" with compassion in rebellion against earlier teachings. Similarly, early Christianity was sort of a lower-class rebellion against the Roman elites, and its central figure, Jesus, repeatedly commanded his followers to give up their posessions.

Despite religiosity being related to higher Constraint (Agreeableness + Conscientiousness), it appears to be unrelated to some of the core narcissistic traits such as (im)modesty. This might reflect the greater similarity of narcissism to the primary psychopath over the secondary subtype. Unlike the secondary psychopath (sociopath), the primary psychopath exhibits preserved social skills and a tendency to blend in, which could be related to the narcissistic tendency to "suck up", if you will.

My post about the possible relevance of oxytocin is now a few pages back, but I have now learned that this oxytocin-religion hypothesis has received some testing and preliminary support.

Sex, the cuddle chemical, and religion (Kate Stockly-Myerdirk)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2014/10/sex-the-cuddle-chemical-and-religion/

Oxytocin, Spirituality, and the Biology of Feeling Connected (Christopher Bergland)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201609/oxytocin-spirituality-and-the-biology-feeling-connected

I find it pertinent to this thread because it could explain why so many priests and pastors have molested children. Psychologists now acknowledge pedophilia as a distinct sexual orientation, although not all molesters suffer form it. You basically have hebephiles, who like pubescent kids; non-exclusive type pedophilies, who have some hebephilic attractions; and exclusive-type pedophiles. Some research suggests that the pedophile's brain is cross-wired such that the nurturing instincts and sexual instincts become confused.

Pedophiles' Brain Differences Make Researchers Reconsider Treatment (Sarah Barness, Huffingtonpost)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/science-explains-pedophiles-brain-video_n_4640067.html

What did he find? Pedophiles’ brains tend to have significantly less white matter. That’s the brain’s cabling tissue, which connects different parts of the brain together, and enables us to react appropriately to people and situations.

“Instead of evoking the responses that come with perceiving a kid, it’s as if it’s cross-wired, and when it sees a kid... it’s triggering the sex response system instead of the parental nurturing system,” Cantor says in the video.

IMO it is not unreasonable to postulate that oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in nurturing instincts and sexual instincts, could be problematic for anyone with a pedophilic preference.

Can't the signal between the lock device and the receiver just be encrypted?

Maybe I should have left HTTPS and SSL out of this since I never really understood asymmetric key systems.

Aaaaannnyway we have more reading material.

TB003 An Introduction to Keeloq Code Hopping (Kobus Marneweck, Microchip Technology Inc)

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/AppNotes/91002a.pdf

It turns out that KeeLoq (the original that was later succeeded by Dual KeeLoq) is actually an encryption cipher that was sold to Microchip Technology Inc. Yes, KeeLoq systems are encrypted, and they were considered secure at first. KeeLoq locks and unlocks with a relatively long, 66-bit code consisting of a "34-bit fixed portion" and a "32-bit encrypted portion", and KeeLoq uses a 64-bit encryption key that encrypts "information regarding transmitter identity and synchronization." The Keeloq system became less secure in 2007, when somebody leaked proprietary information about its functioning.

Researchers Crack KeeLoq code for Car Keys (Kim Zetter)

https://www.wired.com/2007/08/researchers-cra

 

The KeeLoq technology, which is licensed by Microchip Technology to car makers and other entities, has long been considered to be pretty secure. Each KeeLoq key or key fob uses a unique value, out of billions and billions of possibilities, to unlock a car.

 

But after proprietary information about KeeLoq was leaked to a Russian hacking web site (pdf) last year, the five researchers, from the University of Leuven as well as the Hebrew University and the Technion in Israel, began examining the system for vulnerabilities. Within three to five days Dunkelman says they developed their first basic attack, then spent months refining their technique.

The attack involves probing a digital key wirelessly by sending 65,000 challenge/response queries to it. Once the researchers collect 65,000 responses – which takes about an hour – they use software they designed to decipher that key’s unique code. The deciphering currently takes about a day using a dedicated computer. But once they’ve cracked one key, they know 36 bits of the 64 bits they need to know. Those 36 bits are identical for every car model a manufacturer makes (different car models will vary only slightly).

In fact, it looks like most transmitters, not just KeeLoq's, were using encryption already.

"There is one master key from which is derived the key for each car a company makes," says Orr Dunkelman, a researcher from the University of Leuven in Belgium who worked on the project with four colleagues.

Can other people unlock my car door with their remote? (Patrick E George, HowStuffWorks)

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/automotive/unlock-car-door-remote1.htm

 

Before this rolling code system was developed, thieves were able to use electronic devices called "code grabbers" to lock onto your keyfob's unique signal. With rolling codes, the signal is unique every time, rendering a code grabber device useless [source: Lake].

In addition, the code is stored inside the car, not within the keyfob. A thief would need to break into the car to access the code, which defeats the purpose of getting it in the first place.

The numbers generated when the code hops is random. However, in theory, an astute hacker dead-set on stealing your car could find a way to anticipate the next code in the sequence. For this reason, the codes are encrypted as well, making each electronic keyfob have billions of possible codes.

 

 

 

The manufacturer id and car id is to ensure that your key fob won't open the car next to yours. Not to stop the thieves from accessing your car that would be a number of unique changing passwords set by yourself. Say when I open my car with one password then it will switch to the next password.

And it might create a weakness. Step 1: Intercept the transmission of the encrypted code. Step 2: Determine where the manufacturer ID is in the decrypted code. Step 3: Use your relatively powerful laptop to test possible encryption keys by inspecting the output for the manufacturer ID.

I take it the manufacturer ID would not be encrypted.

The reality is that you would need at a minimum

 

a. A manufacturer identifier

b. A unique car id which should probably be in ipv6 or similar

c. A unique changing password with encryption

 

and it would all have to fit into the very small form-factor of a car key.

Make it optional. A woman who keeps the key in her purse might opt for the larger, encrypted version.

Regardless, I'm concerned that the thieves might pick up on the manufacturer's signature, allowing the thieves to shrink the pool of possible encryption keys by testing them against the manufacturer's signature. The manufacturer ID should be a brief snippet of code relative to the encryption key, or otherwise it should be a dynamic signature.

Could the theif decrypt the intercepted code given enough time and enough computing power? This is the case for a hacker decrypting computer files or systems, but is this the case because the hacker already vaguely knows what decrypted code should look like? In the scenario above we are using a randomly generated key to encrypt ... another randomly generated key.

Alas, encryption has been used for immobilizers and weaknesses were discovered.

Arstechnica; Researchers reveal electronic car lock hack after 2-year injunction by Volkswagon (Sean Gallagher)

https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/researchers-reveal-electronic-car-lock-hack-after-2-year-injunction-by-volkswagen/

By eavesdropping on the radio exchange between the Megamos Crypto system and the key only twice, the researchers were able to dramatically reduce the size of the pool of potential matches to the system's 96-bit secret key. Because the system allowed unlimited attempts to authenticate, Verdult, Garcia, and Ege were able to recover the secret key within "3 x 2^16" (196,607) tries with "negligible computational complexity." It all took less than 30 minutes. Some car manufacturers used weaker keys, and the researchers were able to recover the secret key in just a few minutes with a laptop computer.

Hypnosis is not a science, as it does not rely on the empirical method.

 

I would personally give it Psuedo Science stature.

 

At best.

 

At worst?

 

Irresponsible and often dangerous superstitious hoakum. Onboard with Astrology and homeopathy.

 

 

http://www.sciencefocus.com/qa/there-any-scientific-explanation-hypnosis

Hypnosis can refer to either a state of mind or the technique for inducing that state of mind. Perhaps the thread title should have been "the science of trance".

Can't the signal between the lock device and the receiver just be encrypted?

The keyword is "just". Encryption might be useful in a more complex system. As far as I can tell it is a one-way connection, going from the remote key to a computer control unit ("brain") that generates predictable codes in a sequence. I could fathom a two-way connection to a brain that is always generating new codes randomly. The brain would broadcast the code in encrypted form, and the remote key would have the key to decrypt it. I think this is essentially what happens in systems like HTTPS that utilize Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. At the outset an encryption key is exchanged between server and client, and that key is used for ongoing, encrypted communication. Thus an eavesdropper will only have the key if they were eavesdropping from the very start.

[sic]

I don't understand rolling code authentication systems let alone those with expiring codes. Nevertheless, I think it should hinder attacks in instances where the device "is attached to the car or hidden near a garage." The tell is that you have to push the button twice before gaining access. If the RollJam device is hidden, however, then this is only true on the first instance, and thereafter it can seamlessly mimic normal functioning, simultaneously jamming your signal and broadcasting its stored signal. Expiring the code that was stored by the RollJam device would require the RollJam device to perform this first step again.

In retrospect, I'm finding the Edmunds quote misleading. In my opinion, your keyless entry system should not be seen as a weakness, but rather the car alarm should be seen as augmenting the traditional lock. Entry by key can be exploited too, with other, lower-tech methods: lock picking, key duplication, jimmying through the weather-stripping. I have picked padlocks, but you will gradually scratch up the keyway if you are unskilled. I've never tried to pick a car lock, for jimmying has always been the easier option. Both of these methods are useful for owners who have lost the key. On the other hand, a theif will probably prefer to borrow your key long enough to create a duplicate. Apparently it doesn't require much time or special equipment, and afterward the theif will have convenient, inconspicuous access. This is why you should have a car alarm too, in my opinion.

RFID immobilizers add a layer of computerized security to the task of key duplication, but they have their own weaknesses and they prevent the theif from starting the car.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/researchers-reveal-electronic-car-lock-hack-after-2-year-injunction-by-volkswagen/

Has anyone else looked into car alarms with expiring code? I want a car alarm that augments its rolling code with code expiration. It might not be an expensive feature—it seems less like an added feature and more like a security update to the code.

Theives can intercept and replicate the signal from your remote key, so your keyfob communicates with the "brain" of the alarm system through a special dialogue called "rolling code" or "code hopping". Rolling code systems expire each used code and generate a new code for the next access attempt. Unfortuantely rolling code is no longer enough, and expiring code is the change that will close the hole exposed by Kamkar's "RollJam".

WIRED; This Hacker's Tiny Device Unlocks Cars and Opens Garages (Andy Greenberg)

https://www.wired.com/2015/08/hackers-tiny-device-unlocks-cars-opens-garages/

To circumvent that security measure, RollJam uses an uncannily devious technique: The first time the victim presses their key fob, RollJam “jams” the signal with a pair of cheap radios that send out noise on the two common frequencies used by cars and garage door openers. At the same time, the hacking device listens with a third radio—one that’s more finely tuned to pick up the fob’s signal than the actual intended receiver—and records the user’s wireless code.

When that first signal is jammed and fails to unlock the door, the user naturally tries pressing the button again. On that second press, the RollJam is programmed to again jam the signal and record that second code, but also to simultaneously broadcast its first code. That replayed first code unlocks the door, and the user immediately forgets about the failed key press. But the RollJam has secretly stored away a second, still-usable code. “You think everything worked on the second time, and you drive home,” says Kamkar. “But I now have a second code, and I can use that to unlock your car.”

If the RollJam is attached to the car or hidden near a garage, it can repeat its jamming and interception indefinitely no matter how many times the car or garage door’s owner presses the key fob, replaying one code and storing away the next one in the sequence for the attacker.

 

[...]

 

Kamkar also says that Cadillac may be correct that its newest vehicles aren’t subject to the attack. The latest version of Keeloq’s chips, which the company calls Dual Keeloq, use a system of codes that expire over short time periods and foil his attack.

 

Arstechnica; Meet RollJam, the $30 device that jimmies car and garage doors (Dan Goodin)

https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/08/meet-rolljam-the-30-device-that-jimmies-car-and-garage-doors/

The reason many electronic locks are vulnerable to RollJam is that the rolling codes are invalidated only after it or a subsequent rolling code is received. Devices like the RSA SecurID, by contrast, cause validation codes to expire after a specific amount of time.

"Rolling codes should be valid only for limited period of time," Kamkar told Ars. "Code should be associated with a period of time."

At the moment, RollJam is about the size of a wallet, but with additional work it could be the size of a car key.

Edmunds; How to Protect your Car from Keyless-Entry Hacking (Patrick J. Kiger)

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/technology/how-to-protect-your-car-from-keyless-entry-hacking.html

Vandelac has security cameras mounted around her home, but when she watched the video from around 2 a.m., she was puzzled.

"It was a group of four men who came down the driveway at the same time," she recalls. "Each went to a different side of the vehicles. Then one man took something out of his pocket — it looked to be about the size of a cell phone — and aimed it at the cars. Then, instantly, the lights went on and all four doors opened."

Vandelac is sure that both vehicles were locked. Nevertheless, the thieves apparently were able to open the vehicles' keyless-entry systems as readily as if they'd been using the smart keys that she says were inside her home.

The still-unsolved theft is just one of numerous reports over the past year, in locales ranging from Sausalito, California, and Yukon, Oklahoma, to Saginaw County, Michigan. Criminals are gaining entry to parked cars, apparently by tricking their keyless-entry systems into unlocking the doors.

None of the perpetrators have been caught, and the gadgetry they are using remains mysterious. But some electronic security experts believe that the criminals may be exploiting the convenience of keyless-entry systems, which are designed to detect and authenticate the smart key inside a car owner's pocket as he or she pulls on the door handle.

 

Exercise definitely aids cognition. The debate seems to be whether it is worth it.

The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3951958/
Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition, Academic Achievement, and Psychosocial Function in Children: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials (#Discussion)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti.../#__sec12title
Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: a meta-analytic study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12661673

Firstly, cardio will boost bloodflow to your brain. Exercise boosts testosterone, and low testosterone can lead to poor concentration. Whereas exercise can induce temporary irritability due to the cortisol release via HPA activation, the endorphins only take an hour to kick in and IME it has a more long-term effect on serotonin. In my experience coffee can be boon or bang, accelerating my thoughts and scattering my thoughts, but the coffee is more beneficial if I am exercising. I jog, and it took me too long to realize that I could avert knee pain by focusing on my arm motions. Proper or not, I land on the ball of my foot moreso than my heel while making circles with my hands as if spinning a wheel.

Either exercise or tryptophan intake will benefit serotonergic activity.

Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4728667/

In addition, depleted serotonin causes cognitive impairments, with reports including deficits in verbal reasoning, episodic, and working memory, while conversely tryptophan supplementation has positive effects on attention and memory.

P.S. Unless it is light exercise, exercise the day before!

Excuse me for posting and reading after.

Exercise may not benefit attention in particular but rather spatial memory.

 

Thus, the hippocampus, a structure that has a fundamental role in memory processing is one of the main brain regions influenced by physical activity.

[...]

Findings indicated that higher fitness was associated with larger bilateral hippocampal volume, and greater fitness and hippocampal volume were associated with better spatial memory performance (59). In addition, hippocampal volume partially mediated the association between fitness and spatial memory performance. Given that the hippocampus demonstrates disproportionately lager degradation during aging, these findings suggest that aerobic fitness may be an effective means for preventing age-related cortical decay and cognitive impairment (59). A second study (61), utilized a randomized control design with 120 older adults and found that the exercise treatment group increased their hippocampal volume by 2%. In addition, the exercise group demonstrated higher levels of serum BDNF and improvements in spatial memory.

This might help to advance the evolution discussion a bit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandrel_%28biology%29

In evolutionary biology, a spandrel is a phenotypic characteristic that is a byproduct of the evolution of some other characteristic, rather than a direct product of adaptive selection.

The term originated during the Roman era as an architectural word for the roughly triangular space between the tops of two adjacent arches and the ceiling. These spaces were not actually utilized until later on, when artists realized they could make designs and paint in these small areas, enhancing the overall design of the building. Stephen Jay Gould, a paleontologist at Harvard, and Richard Lewontin, a population geneticist, borrowed the word to apply to secondary byproducts of adaptations that were not necessarily adaptive in themselves.

Some Patheos reading has me thinking I could gauge a retailer by its stock of controversial merchandise: controversial clothing, birth control, guns ... ???. Anyone who shops for these things may be able to help. Do any females notice, for example, that Target stocks birth control pills that Walmart won't?

Sex toys and dirty magazines might be of interest as well, but as a control or else because of potential gender bias.

If I only knew of a news site that focuses on this topic, then I could search Google with the "site:" modifier to filter the search results by domain name.

Goldman Sachs appears twice in the 2017 Climate Leadership Awards, even though they disproportionately donated to Republican campaigns in the 2012 election and their president, Gary Cohn, left the firm to join the Trump administration.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/google-marriott-ups-pick-sides-2012-election/story?id=16208812

"Goldman Sachs, Marriott International and The Home Depot have also disproportionately supported Republicans."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/01/25/trump-adviser-gary-cohn-is-leaving-goldman-sachs-with-a-123-million-payout/?utm_term=.d9433e054bf9

I've come across one business describing itself as "faith-friendly", which seems to be an ill-defined term that I fear might be an excuse to dig into people's private lives. I'm thinking that most businesses probably aren't openly racist, anti-gay, anti-atheist, et cetera, but there are probably more organizations identifying with religion in some way because they prefer like-minded employees. Alas I still haven't come across any fast reference to determine how secular or religious an organization is.

Can't vouch for them, but there's this, too: http://sustainablebusinessawards.com/about/

Why do you trust it? https://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/sustainablebusinessawards.com

It will take me a while to incorporate this new territory, but initial reading suggests relevance of oxytocin.

Oxytocin increases both mentalizing and in-/out-group favoritism, both of which are correlates of religiosity.

Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analysis of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy (Bakermans-Kranenburg, Jzendoorn, 2013)

Oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism (Dreur, Gleer, Kleef, Shalvi, Handgraaf, 2011)

Oxytocin has a mixed effect on hypnotizability and perhaps religiosity. So far I think it looks as though oxytocin increases hypnotizability only in certain tasks and perhaps only for low hypnotizable people.

Oxytocin as a moderator of hypnotizability. (Bryant, Hung, Guastella, Mitchell, 2012)

Oxytocin Enhances Social Persuasion during Hypnosis (Bryant, Hung, 2013)

impedes hypnotizability sometimes Oxytocin impedes the effect of word-blindness post-hypnotic suggestion on Stroop task performance (Parris, Dienes, Bate, Gothhard, 2013)

pro-religious Religion priming and an oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphism interact to affect self-control in a social context (Sasaki, Mojaverian, Kim, 2015)

Anti-spritual in Japanese? An association between belief in life after death and serum oxytocin in older people in rural Japan (Imamaura et al, 2017)

Oxytocin also seems to be related to psychopathic traits.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24059811

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24059750

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25411990

Edited to add that, oxytocin being involved in bonding, sexual reproduction and childbirth, a connection to religiosity would also help to explain the relationship of religiosity to fecundity.

Religiosity and Fertility in the United States: The Role of Fertility Intentions (Hayford, Morga, 2014)

It's linked to autism too. This stuff just keeps coming.

It is far from comprehensive, but I just came across the Environmental Protection Agency's "Climate Leadership Awards".

https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/climate-leadership-awards

New awards were given just this March.

https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/2017-climate-leadership-award-winners

I have a few reasons for wanting to know: to take pride in hard work; to know the company's culture, attitudes of superiors and recruiters. Regarding sustainability I could only find articles published on news sites that may be politically biased and/or paid off. I would prefer government data.

With nothing better to do, I investigated whether hypnotizability might be related to religiosity and/or mentalizing (theory of mind). There is a theory called the "Empathic Invovlement Theory of Hypnosis", but no link between empathy and hypnotizability has been established and, indeed, autistics may be equally hypnotizable to neurotypicals.

Hypnosis Without Empathy? Perspectives from Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Stage Hypnosis (Reid, 2016)

Instead I focused on a psychological trait called "absorption", which probably corresponds to the "fantasizer subtype" of the hypnotizable person, rather than the "dissociater subtype", but is probably related to dissociation regardless. I encountered something opposite to my expectations, finding that absorption may be related to higher openness and also to secondary psychopathic traits, which would imply an inverse relationship with religiosity. However, I found that absorption may be positively related to religiosity, but perhaps more specifically to new age spiritual beliefs. This is somewhat consistent with the mixed relationship of religiosity to openness and the stronger relationship of openness to "spirituality", which I posted about on Page 11.

Hypnotizability and facets of openness. (Glisky, Kihlstrom, 1993)

Absorption, a correlate of hypnotizability, is related to a broader dimension of openness to experience, one construal of the "Big Five" structure of personality. But openness itself is very heterogeneous, and some of its facets may be unrelated to hypnotizability.

Validating Female Psychopathy Subtypes: Differences in Personality, Antisocial and Violent Behavior, Substance Abuse, Trauma, and Mental Health (Hicks, Vaidyanathan, Patrick 2011)

Primary psychopaths scored lower than control prisoners on Traditionalism and Absorption only. Compared to control prisoners, the secondary psychopaths scored higher on Social Potency, Stress Reaction, Alienation, Aggression, Absorption, and NEM, and lower on Social Closeness, Control, Communal-PEM, and CON.

[...]

Additionally, secondary psychopaths scored high on the personality trait of Absorption, consistent with evidence for dissociative experiences in both PTSD and BPD (Davidson & Foa, 1991; Herman, 1992; Lauer et al., 1993).

Validation of the Narrative Emplotment Scale and its correlations with well-being and psychological adjustment (Hill, Terrell, Hladkyj, Nagoshi, 2009)

Two studies examined correlates of the Narrative Emplotment Scale (NES), which measures the extent to which individuals perceive chance events and unchosen experiences as meaningfully connected. In Study 1 (N=99), the NES demonstrated adequate test-retest stability and good internal reliability. The scale was positively related to paranormal beliefs, mystical experiences, and absorption. In Study 2 (N=342), personality measures indicative of external locus of control, intrinsic religiosity, well-being, satisfaction with life, and a measure of frequency of coincidence experience were all positively correlated with narrative emplotment, providing further support for the construct validity of the scale.

Disorganized attachment, absorption, and new age spirituality: a mediational model.

In this paper, we present a theoretical model and an empirical review linking disorganized attachment with New Age spiritual beliefs and activities via a proposed mediator; the propensity to enter altered states of consciousness (absorption/dissociation).

[...]

Results supported the mediational model, although the bivariate relation between U/d attachment and New Age spirituality was of modest strength.

Truth, while I am no religious nut I'd have to agree for the most part with you with one thing I'd like to point out.

 

Religion does happen to cause groups yes, but it facilitates an air of progress and innovation because groups are always trying to be 'better than' other groups in the same way males of many species (Sometimes even humans ) fight for the position of 'alpha male', this position requires you to be the biggest baddest and best armed in a region where the species propagates. This is a natural survival instinct because if you are bigger, badder, and better armed than another group/individual then you have a very high chance of survival, and what is the base instinct of every living thing? Survive and reproduce. This mindset also applies to groups. While this can be achieved without religion, religion has a way of sparking technological innovation and a culture of moderation and democracy, So while it can be an ugly beast (Especially in the cases of some rather twisted religions like ones that use cannibalism or human sacrifice as a rite) it does serve some purpose in secular society.

I think people would form competing groups regardless. We have competition within groups and competition between groups, and we always will. Religion is an interesting case because we aren't competing over the pragmatic utility of a consumer product or government system, but the pragmatic utility, regardless of accuracy, of certain beliefs about the nature of reality. Perhaps it can be useful to look at religious beliefs this way, as valuing pragmatic utility over accuracy, but are the same beliefs that were useful one- or two-thousand years ago still useful today? Look at the conflict between creationism and environmentalism for example.

I actually came in to post the chimapnzee research that I failed to link to earlier (the second, bottom hyperlink). They explain the hierarchical nature of personality, i.e. how you can analyze it at the level of two factors, three factors, five factors, etc.

Chimpanzees might have a personality dimension called "dominance" that roughly corresponds to honesty-humility in human personality. Agreeableness fuses with Conscientiousness to form a three-factor dimension called disinhibition/constraint, which then combines with (most of) Neuroticism to form a two-factor dimension called "alpha". I pointed out that the "modesty" facet of Agreeableness, which corresponds to honesty-humility along with the straightforwardness facet, is also correlated and anti-correlated with Neuroticism and Extraversion, respectively. Parts of the following publication read to me as suggestions that the Chimpanzee "dominance" factor follows a similar pattern to honesty-humility, which seems consistent with the low honesty-humility Narcissists being frequently found in positions of leadership.

Personality in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Exploring the Hierarchical Structure and Associations with the Vasopressin V1A Receptor Gene

While previous factor-analytic studies have found a six-factor solution that includes the five FFM factors (i.e., Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Openness) plus Dominance %5B11%5D, %5B43%5D, others have failed to extract the sixth factor and have instead found five %5B12%5D.

 

[...]

 

At the three-factor level (see Table 2), the three dimensions that emerge are similar to the “Big Three” of Disinhibition (vs. Constraint), Positive Emotionality, and Negative Emotionality with Alpha/Stability breaking into Disinhibition and (low) Dominance. It should be noted, however, that chimpanzee Negative Emotionality appears to be a combination of traditional human Negative Emotionality items (e.g., Fearful, Cautious) and Dominance (e.g., dependent(−) and submissive(−)) items.

For a more general overview of the hierarchical structure of personality in both humans and chimps, see:

The contribution of genetics and early rearing experiences to hierarchical personality dimensions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

note: DIS=disinhibition, and NEM=negative emotionality which more or less corresponds to Neuroticism.

These two meta-traits then differentiated into a structure similar to the well-known “Big Three” model with Alpha differentiating into DIS and NEM/low Dominance and Beta differentiating into largely PEM. Consistent with human findings, traits ultimately differentiated into five factors largely parallel to the FFM.

I suppose the question then is why psychopaths, particularly impulsive, deviant psychopaths, tend to be less religious except perhaps when the emphasis is on these dishonest-arrogant (-dominant ???) traits, whether these differences were always present throughout the history of religion, and how they might have influenced religious teachings and institutions throughout history. It might be interesting to add that men tend to be less Agreeable, less Neurotic, and more Narcissistic.

Not only does suicide indicate a loss of life and life value, but it's probably economically relevant too. I've only had significant formal study of biological science, but I found the possibility interesting and decided to post some data here. I quickly gathered what information I could regarding the suicide rates of immigrants and also how family disruption (such as that due to deportations) might be conducive to suicide.

As it turns out, Mexican immigrants do have higher suicide rates.

Immigration and Suicidal Behavior Among Mexicans and Mexican Americans

As the tables show, there is no difference in suicide attempts between Mexicans of families without an immigration history and "labor immigrants" who visit temporarily nor "Mexican-born future immigrants" who haven't migrated yet. However the rates are higher for migrants and relatives of migrants. Note that suicide attempts is a more objective, behavioral measure that is probably less susceptible to reporting bias than "suicidal ideation" or "suicide plan".

Table 1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661474/table/tbl1/

Table 3: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661474/table/tbl3/

Here is more data showing that Mexican-born immigrants and un-documented immigrants in the US tend to hold occupations that are associated with higher suicide risk.

Figure: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/source_images_oldsite/mex_spotlight_graph2.gif

Source: Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Force (MigrationPolicy.org)

In summary:

Data is from 2000.

Farming forestry and fishing oocupations: Native (0.5%), Foreign born (2.0%), Foreign born from Mexico (6.5%)

Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations: Native (9.3%), Foreign born (10.4%), Foreign born from Mexico (18.9%)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/majority-of-undocumented-immigrants-work-in-low-skill-jobs-report-finds/2015/03/26/dada9f2a-d3bc-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?utm_term=.9dc941f0d75c

Nationwide, unauthorized immigrants are clustered in a few occupations, notably farming, fishing and forestry (26 percent of the workforce), building and grounds (17 percent), and construction and mining (14 percent). They comprise 24 percent of all groundskeepers, 23 percent of domestic workers and 20 percent of those in clothing manufacture.

Suicide Rates by Occupational Group - 17 States, 2012 (CDC report)

Analysis of 2012 National Violent Death Reporting System data from 17 states indicated that workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry occupational group had the highest rate of suicide (84.5 per 100,000), followed by workers in construction and extraction (53.3), and installation, maintenance, and repair (47.9). Among males, farming, fishing, and forestry also accounted for the highest rates of suicide (90.5 per 100,000), whereas the highest rate among females (14.1) was among workers in the protective service occupational group.

Regarding suicide and family disruption, I was able to find this free-to-read publication, which gives an overview of findings in its introduction.

Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Difference by Sex

Larger families and employment are associated with lower risks of suicide for both men and women. Low levels of education or being divorced or separated, widowed, or never married are associated with increased risks of suicide among men, but not among women.

 

[...]

 

Individual level analyses of marital status and suicide have relied largely on bivariate models, but have produced consistent findings that support higher suicide risk among divorced compared to married persons (for a review, see Stack, 2000b). Familial relationships may shape individuals’ risks of suicide for several reasons. Being married may reduce the risk of suicide because spouses can provide social support in stressful situations, inhibit risky behaviors such as drinking and drug use, and confer a sense of meaning and obligation (Umberson, 1992; Waite, 2006). Larger families—typically marked by the presence of numerous children and other adult relatives—might also be associated with reduced risks of suicide mortality if they provide integration across generations and offer greater opportunities for connection to the outside world (Berkman and Glass, 2000; Rogers, Hummer, and Nam, 2000). The opportunity to talk about problems or the sense of responsibility toward a spouse or other family members should lower individuals’ risks of suicide mortality.

Listening to folk singer Elliott Smith's "Either/Or" and "Rose Parade" caught my attention.

I just wanted to add links to these publications of which I have just read the extremely exciting abstracts.

Psychopathy and the ability to read the "language of the eyes": Divergence in the psychopathy construct
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4282377/

"For Factor 1 psychopathic traits (interpersonal and affective), we found positive associations with discrimination of neutral mental states, but not with the positive or negative mental states. Factor 2 traits (antisocial lifestyle) were found to be negatively associated with discrimination of mental states."

The Relationship Between Narcissistic Exploitativeness, Dispositional Empathy, and Emotion Recognition Abilities
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10919-013-0164-y

"Across two studies we find that narcissistic exploitativeness is indeed associated with increased emotion recognition, but in some cases the confounding effects of mood need to be considered (Study 1)."

In review, i.e. why this is so exciting to me, read on.
Remember that the non-religious might have relatively unimpaired honesty-humility (A2 and A5) and that this trait is most impaired in the narcissist. Remember that the primary psychopath (the Factor 1 psychopath) is thought to be more similar to a narcissist while the secondary psychopath more similar to a borderline.

[...]

Norenzayan showed that religious belief arises at least partly from intuitivie, or system 1, thinking. However his team also showed that theory of mind (skill in reasoning about minds) is required for religious belief.

Analytic Thinking Promotes Religious Disbelief
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.389.9433&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Mentalizing Deficits Constrain Belief in a Personal God
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0036880
NOTE: I have seen some evidence that the non-religious exhibit more antisocial personality traits, likely in the form of "secondary psychopathy", but autistics in particular are susceptible to avoidant, schizoid, schizotypal, and obsessive-compulsive personality... not antisocial personality.

Consistent with posts on the previous page, I've also seen some of the research correlating religiosity with lower crime. My recollection is that this is mostly petty crimes like juvenile delinquency and mild drug abuse, not serious crimes like murder or rape. Anyway, I'm starting to see evidence for an inverse correlation, at the level of the individual, between religiosity and less antisocial personality, but it might not be as bad as it sounds.
First, the evidence.

#1: Correlates of psychopathic personality traits in everyday life: results from a large community survey
#2: Psychopathic Personality Traits and Environmental Contexts: Differential Correlates, Gender Differences, and Genetic Mediation

#3: Five-Factor Model Personality Traits, Spritiaulity/Religiousness, and Mental Health Among People Living with HIV
#4: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationships Between the Five-Factor Model and DSM-IV-TR Personality Disorders: A Facet Level Analysis

As we can see from Table 3 in source #1, the non-religious score higher on the psychopathic personality inventory (PPI-R), but its relationship with the Fearless Dominance (FD) facet does not reach statistical significance. As it turns out, there are two types of psychopaths, the primary and the secondary. The primary psychopath is distinguished by the fearless dominance traits that the secondary does not possess. The secondary psychopath still experiences fear, anxiety, and guilt, but he still takes risks and behaves recklessly. It was long speculated that primary psychopathy was endogenous, or even genetic, because they didn't have the same unfavorable environment that secondary psychopaths did. As source #2 elaborates on, our twin studies have shown equal genetic and environmental loadings for both disorders, but these environmental causes for primary psychopathy remain elusive, whereas many detrimental social environmental risk-factors for secondary psychopathy have been identified. Who knows, maybe primary psychopathy is caused by nutrition or chemicals. Anyway, moving on.
As we can see from Table 2 in source #4, consistent with source #1, the same Big Five factors are aberrant in both antisocial personality and being non-religious. However, most research, including my #3, shows that the relationship with conscientiousness is stronger, probably about twice as strong. This means that non-religious people are mainly less conscientious. Perhaps they tend to be more indulgent, not willing to abide by the abstinent prescriptions of religions. Narcissism on the other hand loads almost completely on Agreeableness, so the non-religious might be more narcissistic. However Table 2 in source #3 gives a breakdown of how religiosity loads on each Agreeableness facet, and we can see that the strongest emphasis is on facet A4 Compliance (and A6 Tender-Mindedness if you include these iffy "sense of peace" and "compassion" dimensions). Spirituality/religiousness didn't load significantly on A2 Straightforwardness or A5 Modesty, and it was actually negatively related to modesty. My personal suspicion is that the portrait of the narcissistic atheist worshiping himself has actually came from autistic atheists who lacked social graces (autistic personalities are mainly high Neurotic and low Extraversion).

[...]

As we can see in this final link, borderline is somewhat more common in people with Asperger's syndrome, but aspies might have similar or perhaps lower rates of antisocial or narcissistic personality.

Table 4 of "Psychiatric and psychosocial problems in adults with normal-intelligence autism spectrum disorders"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705351/table/T4/

In some cases borderline patients have enhanced mind-reading abilities, but the etiology of this is still under investigation.

We aren't there yet, but the world is slowly changing for the better due to better education of the masses and the shaming of the guilty.

Shaming the guilty, or punishing the guilty? Punishment generally requires an objective, standardized trial system that relies on thorough, informed investigation with extensive oversight. Shaming as a punishment can subvert this system. One shames those who don't conform to one's own mores, often assuming that people with different mores simply lack moral concern altogether and thereby gratifying their own egos through a lack of critical self-examination. Shaming in the natural, anarchic setting only facilitates groupthink, deindividuation, and the preconception that things are always as they appear. Shaming inhibits free inquiry and progress toward the truth, and knowing the truth is necessary to knowing what is moral.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindividuation#Classic_theories

R. C. Ziller (1964) argued that individuals are subject to deindividuation under more specific situational conditions. For instance, he suggested that under rewarding conditions, individuals have the learned incentive to exhibit individualized qualities in order to absorb credit for themselves; whereas, under punishing conditions, individuals have the learned tendency to become deindividuated through submergence into the group as a means of diffusing responsibility.^[7]