Children are selective cultural learners, and they rely heavily on social cues when determiningwhom to trust in the face of conflicting information. Although theories of cultural evolution predict that prestige, rather than dominance, cues should guide culturally-transmitted learning, preschoolers in two cross-culturally diverse samples were recently reported to selectively endorse the claims of a socially dominant agent. Here we show, however, that preschoolers in Norway, a highly egalitarian culture, did not selectively endorse the claims of a socially dominant, novel agent. This was the case across five fully-blinded experiments, encompassing a total of 249 preschoolers, which also controlled for the possibility that social desirability biases or culturally contingent display rules might account for any lack of preferences for dominant agents. A meta-analysis of all five experiments indicated that participants were equally likely to choose the dominant and subordinate agent. These results suggest that the tendency to endorse the claims of socially dominant individuals do not reliably emerge across culture in early childhood.

Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is widespread, and there is no pharmacotherapy to facilitate its treatment. AEF0117, the first of a new pharmacological class, is a signaling-specific inhibitor of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1-SSi). AEF0117 selectively inhibits a subset of intracellular effects resulting from Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) binding without modifying behavior per se. In mice and non-human primates, AEF0117 decreased cannabinoid self-administration and THC-related behavioral impairment without producing significant adverse effects. In single-ascending-dose (0.2 mg, 0.6 mg, 2 mg and 6 mg; n = 40) and multiple-ascending-dose (0.6 mg, 2 mg and 6 mg; n = 24) phase 1 trials, healthy volunteers were randomized to ascending-dose cohorts (n = 8 per cohort; 6:2 AEF0117 to placebo randomization). In both studies, AEF0117 was safe and well tolerated (primary outcome measurements). In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover phase 2a trial, volunteers with CUD were randomized to two ascending-dose cohorts (0.06 mg, n = 14; 1 mg, n = 15). AEF0117 significantly reduced cannabis’ positive subjective effects (primary outcome measurement, assessed by visual analog scales) by 19% (0.06 mg) and 38% (1 mg) compared to placebo (P < 0.04). AEF0117 (1 mg) also reduced cannabis self-administration (P < 0.05). In volunteers with CUD, AEF0117 was well tolerated and did not precipitate cannabis withdrawal. These data suggest that AEF0117 is a safe and potentially efficacious treatment for CUD.ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT03325595, NCT03443895 and NCT03717272.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of CEO narcissism in corporate acquisitions with a focus on frequency and size and furthermore to examine the subsequent stock market reaction.Design/methodology/approachThe authors investigate 751 acquisitions made by 158 UK nonfinancial firms and 202 CEOs in the 10-year period 2007–2016. The authors use the ratio of first-person singular pronouns to total first-person pronouns in CEO speech as the main proxy for CEO narcissism but the results are robust to the use of signature size and picture as alternative measures.FindingsThe authors find that increased CEO narcissism is associated with an increase in M&A expenditures, an increase in deal size and a decrease in deal frequency. Thus, the authors find that narcissistic CEOs favor size over frequency (“go big”). Furthermore, the authors find that the stock market reacts less favorably to acquisitions announced by firms run by narcissistic CEOs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to upper echelon research by investigating the association between CEO narcissism and corporate decisions in a UK setting. More specifically, the paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating how CEO narcissism is associated with corporate acquisitions in terms of the size and frequency of deals and how such irrational behavior is penalized by the stock market. Previous literature has focused on the more broad association between CEO narcissism and M&A expenditures.

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Measuring gas exchange with step changes in inspired oxygen: an analysis of the assumption of oxygen steady state. Invited paper for a