Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) juggle between their feminine and professional identity goals. The present research views these struggles from the perspective of identity goal pursuits. Women in STEM may use different, sometimes even symbolic, ways to strive for the two identity goals, for example, by wearing outfits that reflect femininity, their profession, or both. In two studies, we tested to what extent these two goals overlap (are seen as similar) and whether the higher overlap between feminine and STEM professional identity goals is related to the preference for outfits that may serve two goals at the same time or only one of them. In Study 1 (N = 232), we found that willingness to wear an outfit serving both identity goals was positively related to the participant's identity goal overlap. Study 2 (N = 226) showed that overlap was related to the evaluation of the chosen outfits. Participants evaluating the chosen outfits as more multifinal reported higher overlap between the two identity goals.
Symbolic self-completion theory describes how, when individuals face threats to their identity goals (e.g., goals defining the self as Catholic), they experience a state of incompleteness. Failing to perform an identity-relevant activity or noticing that one lacks a certain identity symbol (i.e., relevant qualifications, skills, and material possessions, but also relevant performances) prompts individuals to search actively for relevant identity symbols (i.e., to self-symbolize). We argue that when self-symbolizing in the area of a threatened identity goal is not possible, individuals are likely to attempt to acquire the symbols for a second aspired-to identity goal (i.e., to engage in cross-goal self-symbolization). However, these efforts would be only observed in people perceiving the two identity goals as overlapping (i.e., being similar in terms of what drives the two goals). In two experimental studies, Polish Catholics were made incomplete regarding their national (N = 254, Study 1) and religious (N = 268, Study 2) identity goals (i.e., being a Pole and a Catholic, respectively). Subsequently, they were provided with the opportunity to symbolize across identity goals. In both studies, “incomplete” participants with a higher identity goal overlap were more likely to cross self-symbolize than participants in a control group. In Study 1, incomplete participants lit more candles in the virtual church, whereas in Study 2, these participants designed a poster with more national symbols. These findings indicate that symbolization across religious and national identity goals is contingent upon higher levels of identity goal overlap among incomplete participants.
This article primarily proposes a different, interdisciplinary view of the city as a specific space for the manifestation of various lifestyles. The authors posit that the concept of urban lifestyles (Oliveira et al. 2020) is simply too general for understanding cities from an architectural-urban and social per-spective. Furthermore, the category of the “creative class” (Florida 2003) is not so much a description of a specific lifestyle as it is a manifestation of consumption-oriented market practices. Assuming that society should be understood primarily as a system of communicative connections (Luhmann 1995), the authors indicate a possible direction for the study of lifestyles: from the perspective of their application to urban space in a way that is oriented towards the final recipient in a specific social role. Thus, it is not the human being that is the focal point of lifestyle differentiation but com-munications and their social manifestations. The authors look at the city and its spaces in order to juxtapose them with the concept of the communicative stratification of society.
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring amine and psychedelic compound, found in plants, animals, and humans. While initial studies reported only trace amounts of DMT in mammalian brains, recent findings have identified alternative methylation pathways and DMT levels comparable to classical neurotransmitters in rodent brains, calling for a re-evaluation of its biological role and exploration of this inconsistency. This study evaluated DMT's biosynthetic pathways, focusing on indolethylamine N-methyltransferase (INMT) and its isoforms, and possible regulatory mechanisms, including alternative routes of synthesis and how physiological conditions, such as stress and hypoxia influence DMT levels. This review considers the impact of endogenous regulatory factors on DMT synthesis and degradation, particularly under conditions affecting monoamine oxidase (MAO) efficiency and activity. We also examined DMT's potential roles in various physiological processes, including neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, mitochondrial homeostasis, immunomodulation, and protection against hypoxia and oxidative stress. DMT's lipophilic properties allow it to cross cell membranes and activate intracellular 5-HT2A receptors, contributing to its role in neuroplasticity. This suggests DMT may act as an endogenous ligand for intracellular receptors, highlighting its broader biological significance beyond traditional receptor pathways. The widespread evolutionary presence of DMT's biosynthetic pathways across diverse species suggests it may play essential roles in various developmental stages and cellular adaptation to environmental challenges, highlighting the neurobiological significance of DMT and its potential clinical applications. We propose further research to explore the role of endogenous DMT, particularly as a potential neurotransmitter.
