Complex Behavioral Phenomena Research Articles

Vaccine hesitancy: a structured review from a behavioral perspective (2015–2022)

ABSTRACT Vaccine hesitancy, a complex behavioral phenomenon, poses a significant global health threat and has gained renewed attention amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper scrutinized peer-reviewed literature on vaccine hesitancy published from 2015 to 2022, with a specific focus on behavioral perspectives, utilizing a Theories-Constructs-Variables-Contexts-Methods (TCVCM) framework. The study highlighted prominent theoretical approaches, abstract concepts, research variables, global contexts and academic techniques employed across a selected sample of 138 studies. The result is a consolidated overview of research and schematization of the factors influencing vaccine hesitancy and vaccination behaviors. These include individual-level, contextual, vaccine-specific, organizational, and public-policy-related dynamics. The findings corroborated the complexity of vaccine hesitancy and emphasized the difficulties of pursuing vaccine advocacy. The analysis also identified several directions for future research, and the need to conduct more contextual studies in low- and middle-income nations to bring out the cross-cultural nuances of vaccine hesitancy.

Sampling complex social and behavioral phenomena.

We comment on the limits of relying on prior literature when constructing the design space for an integrative experiment; the adaptive nature of social and behavioral phenomena and the implications for the use of theory and modeling when constructing the design space; and on the challenges of measuring random errors and lab-related biases in measurement without replication.

Dynamics of travel decision-making between organized packaged tourists and backpackers

Tourists are different in terms of their purpose of travel, the tourist type, the number of days spent, and how they spend time in a destination. Tourist decision-making models attempt to conceptualize how tourists make decisions during their pre-travel, onsite experiences, and post-travel stages. These models, including the grand models of tourist behavior, have paved the way to broaden our understanding of this complex behavioral phenomenon. Despite their remarkable contributions to the existing knowledge, these models display some limitations in terms of complexity, general nature of explanations, poor empirical support, and lack of consideration of different traveler types. Further examinations are necessary to understand the dynamic nature of decisions that take place under each broader stage. This study attempted to address some of these limitations through a qualitative inquiry with a comparison of tourist decision-making between two mainstream traveler types i.e. organized package tourists and backpackers. The findings uncovered empirical evidence to propose a research proposition that a general travel decision-making model cannot be derived for different traveler types and certain alterations need to be done with reference to different traveler types. These findings contribute to the literature on tourist behavior by inviting scholars to revisit the existing models in light of different traveler types.

The Art of Blending In Unveiling Camouflaging Traits in Adults with or Without Autism

Camouflaging a complex behavioral and social phenomenon commonly associated with individuals on the autism spectrum, takes center stage in this study. However, it doesn't stop at autism; it delves into the intriguing realm of camouflaging strategies employed by both adult individuals with and without autism. Additionally, the research further investigates the influence of gender on these camouflaging behaviors. This quantitative study exposes notable distinctions in camouflaging traits between adults with and without autism. Individuals with autism spectrum frequently utilize camouflaging to replicate socially accepted behaviors, such as maintaining eye contact and suppressing repetitive actions, in order to integrate into society and escaping potential stigmatization. Nevertheless, this adaptive coping strategy can exact a toll on their mental health & well-being, resulting in heightened stress, anxiety, and mental exhaustion. Remarkably, the research also highlights that camouflaging isn't unique to autism; individuals without autism also harness these strategies in various social situations. These individuals may adjust their body language, behavior, emotional expressions, and appearance to align with dominant societal norms, foster social harmony, or seamlessly integrate into specific social circles. This indicates that camouflaging is a broader phenomenon rooted in the universal human impulse for social adaptation and compliance. Moreover, the study underscores the significance influence of gender expectations on the adoption of camouflaging strategies. It notes that camouflaging appears to be more prevalent among females, irrespective of their autism status, reflecting the unique social challenges and societal expectations faced by women across various cultural landscapes. In essence, this research illuminates the multifaceted nature of camouflaging behaviors and their far-reaching implications. It emphasizes the vital importance of comprehending these behaviors and their potential impacts on individuals' overall mental health & well-being. Moreover, the study advocates for further exploration of the long-term effects of camouflaging and the creation of interventions focused on promoting authenticity in social interactions while alleviating the need for excessive camouflaging efforts.

Bumblebees show capacity for behavioral traditions.

A new study shows that bumblebees learn socially, and this resulted in a novel behavior becoming dominant across a group. These findings highlight the opportunity going forward to use social insects to address how simple cognitive mechanisms can underpin the development of complex behavioral phenomena.

“I Just Want to Be Me, Authentically”: Identity Shifting Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Young Adults

Identity shifting represents a common but complex social, behavioral, and cognitive phenomenon. However, some forms of identity shifting originate in response to structural, institutional, and interpersonal marginalization enacted on lower status groups, such as people of color in the United States. The current study investigated ways young adults from diverse ethnic/racial groups discussed shifting to fit in with White Americans (a dominant group) in the United States and their own ethnic/racial group (a minoritized group) and elucidated self-reported motivations for shifting. Participants consisted of 764 young adults (ages = 18–23) recruited from two large public universities in the Southeast and Southwest regions of the United States. The majority of participants identified as Black/African American (41%), Asian/Asian American (27%), or Hispanic/Latinx (22%). Analysis of participants’ qualitative responses identified six types of shifts and two motivations for shifting. The shifts included: behavioral, linguistic, cognitive, physical, food, and affect. Motivations for shifting focused on avoiding risks and obtaining rewards. The discussion offers interpretation of the results and recommendations for future research on identity shifting.

A coupled model for macroscopic behavior of crowd in flood induced evacuation

Floods are regarded as critical disasters that often lead to catastrophic situations and provoke potential injuries and/or fatalities. The consequences of the flood on the exposed population can be realized by exploring the complex behavioral phenomena of the crowd in interaction with the flood hazard. A profound understanding of the time–space distribution of evacuation patterns and vulnerability in floodwater would help in developing a robust risk reduction strategy and mitigating the flood impact. This paper presents a model that combines a macroscopic description of a crowd evacuation model with a hydrodynamic model of flood inundation described by a two-dimensional depth-averaged Shallow Water Equation (SWE), considering two-way dynamic coupling to study the collective behavior of the crowd in a flooded evacuation scenario. Behavioral rules, such as reduced motion in floodwater, route choice through safe areas, and stress due to perception of danger in threatening flood, are imposed to account for the evacuees’ reaction to floodwater. Moreover, the disruption in free flood propagation due to the pedestrians’ presence in the floodplain has also been modeled. The pedestrian model is solved using a third-order Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO3) scheme, and the hydrodynamic model is numerically handled using a high-resolution Godunov type scheme with HLLC Riemann solver. The potential of the developed model is illustrated through two designed hypothetical test cases, which include the crowd evacuation from a supermarket area exposed to a sudden flood.

Systems on the edge: developing organizational theory for the persistence of mistreatment in childbirth.

Mistreatment in childbirth is institutionalized in many healthcare settings globally, causing widespread harm. Rising concern has elicited research on its prevalence and characteristics, with limited attention to developing explanatory theory. Mistreatment, a complex systemic and behavioral phenomenon, requires social science theory to explain its persistence despite official norms that promote respectful care. Diane Vaughan's normalization of organizational deviance theory from organizational sociology emerged from studies of how things go wrong in organizations. Its multi-level framework provided an opportunity for analogical cross-case comparison to elaborate theory on mistreatment as normalized organizational deviance. To elaborate the theory, the Tanzanian public health system in the period of 2010-2015 was selected as a case. A broad Scopus search identified 4068 articles published on the health system and maternal health in Tanzania of which 122 were selected. Data was extracted using a framework based on the theory and reviews of mistreatment in healthcare. Relationships and patterns emerged through comparative analysis across concepts and system levels and then were compared with Vaughan's theory and additional organizational theories. Analysis revealed that normalized scarcity at the macro-level combined with production pressures for biomedical care and imbalanced power-dependence altered values, structures and processes in the health system. Meso-level actors struggled to achieve production goals with limited autonomy and resources, resulting in workarounds and informal rationing. Biomedical care was prioritized, and emotion work was rationed in provider interactions with women, which many women experienced as disrespect. Analogical comparison with another case of organizational deviance based on literature enabled a novel approach to elaborate theory. The emergent theory sheds light on opportunities to transform systems and routinize respectful care. Theory application in additional settings and exploration of other social theories is needed for further understanding of this complex problem.

A critical assessment of Murray Sidman’s approach to coercion

Murray Sidman’s Coercion and its fallout (1989) is a classic on the behaviorist perspective to social issues. The book provided an operational approach to complex behavioral phenomena, paving the way for behavior analysts to address a wide range of human affairs. Nevertheless, the equivalence established by Sidman between coercion and the use of punishment and negative reinforcement (i.e., aversive control) is tricky, given that the very idea of aversive control is a matter of controversy to this day. Therefore, although innovative, Sidman’s approach to coercion is also problematic, and demands reassessment. This article has three goals: 1) to present a short summary of Sidman’s approach to coercion, 2) to evaluate the problems with such an approach, and 3) to comment on an alternative approach to coercion in behavior analysis. Although critical of Sidman’s approach to coercion, we are aligned with his remarks on the self-correcting, ever-evolving character of scientific research – which is precisely why we argue for his approach to be reassessed from a critical viewpoint.Keywords: Coercion, aversive control, punishment, Murray Sidman, social issues.

Finding Jack Michael's Footprints in the Sand.

Jack Michael left a legacy of fine discriminations among technical terms, a careful parsing of theoretical concepts, and a variety of behavioral interpretations of complex behavioral phenomena. When pushing into relatively unfamiliar territory in areas such as "memory," automatic reinforcement, multiple control, and additivity of response strength, I have been surprised and delighted to find evidence that Jack had once explored the same topics, in the same way, and had come to the same conclusions toward which I was groping.

Association between the Use of Health Services, Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Metabolic Syndrome in Mexican Adults.

Background: The use of health services is a complex behavioral phenomenon affected by multiple factors (availability, distance, cost, quality, attitudes, cultural beliefs, socioeconomic characteristics, and individuals’ self-perception of health). Mexico has a segmented health system, and the access to it depends on the labor insertion and the population’s ability to pay. Objective: To assess association between use of health services and cardiovascular and metabolic syndrome risk factors among Mexican adults. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional nationally representative study carried out on Mexican adults (≥20-year-old adults of both sexes; n = 4595). Socioeconomic factors, geographic area, health care coverage, information about the use of health services, previous medical diagnoses of diabetes and hypertension, and smoking were assessed. Anthropometrics, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and glucose plasma levels were measured. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed. Prevalences were expressed in terms of percentages, and significant differences were calculated using χ2 test. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the association between the use of health services and cardiovascular risk factors and sociodemographic variables. Results: The probability of using health services is higher and more significant in subjects with obesity, diabetes (OR (95% CI): 1.73 (1.49–2.00; p < 0.001), hypertension (OR (95% CI): 1.29 (1.14–1.45; p < 0.001), hypertriglyceridemia (OR (95% CI): 1.30 (1.15–1.46; p < 0.001), and in those with hypercholesterolemia (OR (95% CI): 1.23 (1.03–1.39; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Among health service users, there is a positive significant association between the use of health services and the presence of metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterolemia.

Socio-economic Determinants of Maternal Healthcare Behaviour: Evidence from Pakistan

Maternal healthcare behaviour is a complex behavioural phenomenon. Studies refer to maternal healthcare behaviour as a determinant of individual, household and social factors such as accessibility, affordability and awareness regarding health care. Using the Pakistan Demographic and Household Survey, 2012-13, the study aims to identify the socio-economic determinants of maternal healthcare behaviour of women in Pakistan. Women’s health is a neglected area of study in Pakistan; particularly at household level thus this study will provide an insight into this sensitive area. Empirical estimation is carried out through simple econometric procedure. The econometric specifications followed in the study identify the potential variables that could influence pre and postnatal healthcare behaviour of women in Pakistan. The estimates of this analysis depict that mother’s predisposing factors such as educational level, previous fetal loss experience; spousal educational attainment and economic status are important determinants of maternal health behaviour (MHB) in Pakistan.

Child Mental Health: Clinical and Developmental Review

Mental health can be defined as the "Positive emotional, behavioral, and mental state that can be seen in higher level of personal and social adjustment in personality, signed in several attribute or aspects" According to the developmental period of children, it is important to relate the developmental tasks/ demands and psychosocial needs and demands of child's development to the aspect mental health. The study concludes that the good understanding, predicting and treating child's behavior and personality require to applicate multi-methodologies for investigating this complex behavioral phenomenon.

Good Decisions or Bad Outcomes? A Model for Group Deliberation on Value-Laden Topics

ABSTRACT Agent-based models present an ideal tool for interrogating the dynamics of communication and exchange. Such models allow individual aspects of human interaction to be isolated and controlled in a way that sheds new insight into complex behavioral phenomena. This approach is particularly valuable in settings beset by confounding factors and mixed empirical evidence. The political communication setting of deliberation is one such salient setting: in business, politics, and everyday life, individuals with varying opinions, experience, and information attempt to collaborate and make decisions. Empirical evidence suggests that such collaborative reasoning can lead to good decisions, yet there are numerous deliberative failures which may frequently cause groups to reach bad outcomes. Using the substantive setting of deliberation, this paper presents an agent-based model aimed at disambiguating the individual factors which influence decision-making conversations. We model this communicative process as a deliberative game of “giving and asking for reasons.” Agents share beliefs around possible policy initiatives and attempt to enact “good” policies through a process of mutual exchange and consideration. The model considers an interconnected policy landscape in which implementing or not implementing a policy mediates the value of other policies. Within this framework, the paper considers the impacts of three canonical failures of deliberation: limited cognitive capacity, group factions, and tendencies to make poor judgments when accepting or rejecting others’ views. We find that cognitive capacity can significantly decrease the ability of a group to reach a good decision. However, this effect appears to be mitigated for groups of opposing factions. Indeed, polarized groups do surprisingly well at identifying optimal policy solutions, suggesting that heterogeneous agents can achieve good outcomes if they are willing to talk and learn from each other.

Discrete Competitive Lotka–Volterra Model with Controllable Phase Volume

The simulation of population dynamics and social processes is of great interest in nonlinear systems. Recently, many scholars have paid attention to the possible applications of population dynamics models, such as the competitive Lotka–Volterra equation, in economic, demographic and social sciences. It was found that these models can describe some complex behavioral phenomena such as marital behavior, the stable marriage problem and other demographic processes, possessing chaotic dynamics under certain conditions. However, the introduction of external factors directly into the continuous system can influence its dynamic properties and requires a reformulation of the whole model. Nowadays most of the simulations are performed on digital computers. Thus, it is possible to use special numerical techniques and discrete effects to introduce additional features to the digital models of continuous systems. In this paper we propose a discrete model with controllable phase-space volume based on the competitive Lotka–Volterra equations. This model is obtained through the application of semi-implicit numerical methods with controllable symmetry to the continuous competitive Lotka–Volterra model. The proposed model provides almost linear control of the phase-space volume and, consequently, the quantitative characteristics of simulated behavior, by shifting the symmetry of the underlying finite-difference scheme. We explicitly show the possibility of introducing almost arbitrary law to control the phase-space volume and entropy of the system. The proposed approach is verified through bifurcation, time domain and phase-space volume analysis. Several possible applications of the developed model to the social and demographic problems’ simulation are discussed. The developed discrete model can be broadly used in modern behavioral, demographic and social studies.

Determination of structural factors affecting binding to mu, kappa and delta opioid receptors.

Addiction is a complex behavioral phenomenon in which naturally occurring or synthetic chemicals modulate the response of the reward system through their binding to a variety of neuroreceptors, resulting in compulsive substance-seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual. Among these, the opioid receptor (OR) family and more specifically, the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) subtype plays a critical role in the addiction to powerful prescription and illicit drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine (Contet et al. in Curr Opin Neurobiol 14(3):370-378, 2004). Conversely, agonists binding to kappa (KOR) and antagonists binding to delta opioid receptors (DOR) have been reported to induce negative reinforcing effects. As more than 700 new psychoactive substances were illegally sold between 2009 and 2016 (DEA-DCT-DIR-032-18), most of them lacking basic toxicological and pharmacological profiles, molecular modeling approaches that could quickly and reliably fill the gaps in our knowledge would be highly desirable tools for determining the effects of these synthetics. Here, we report accurate 3D-spectrometric data-activity relationship classification models for large and diverse datasets of MOR, KOR and DOR binders with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the "blind" prediction sets exceeding 0.88. Structural features associated with (selective) binding to MOR, KOR and/or DOR were identified. These models could assist regulatory agencies in evaluating the health risks associated with the use of unprofiled substances as well as to help the pharmaceutical industry in its search for new drugs to combat addiction.

UM PANORAMA DA DISCUSSÃO SOBRE ANSIEDADE NOS PERIÓDICOS NACIONAIS DE ANÁLISE DO COMPORTAMENTO

According to the World Health Organization, in 2017, Brazil was considered the most anxious country in the world, with 9.3% of the population diagnosed with the disorder. Thus, explaining and treating anxiety have become a challenge for different psychological theories, including Behavior Analysis. The aim of this paper is to systematize how the national analytical-behavioral literature has discussed anxious behavior. For this, a bibliographic-exploratory research has been conducted, whose sources are articles published in national journals specialized in Behavior Analysis, and which presented some of the anxiety subtypes used by the DSM-V. Fifteen articles have been selected and documented, whose information has been grouped into analysis categories compiling the main themes associated with the discussion of anxiety. The analytical-behavioral literature criticizes teleological and internalist conceptions of anxiety, and understands it as a complex behavioral phenomenon, since its explanation involves phylogenetic, ontogenetic and cultural aspects. Despite its complexity, analytical-behavioral discussions have focused on the ontogenetic level. In this domain, anxious behavior exhibits interactions of reflex and operant responses, with overt and covert topographies, which occur in order to avoid contact with conditioned aversive stimuli. Although it can also be understood as “ordinary”, different models and analytical-behavioral psychotherapeutic techniques (FAP, SiMCCIT) have been cited to deal with anxious behavior as a clinical complaint. It highlights the importance of Behavior Analysis to expand the studies on anxiety at the cultural level, seeking strategies for prevention and coping with the phenomenon with wider potentiality.

Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data Fusion Reveals Distinct Patterns of Abnormal Brain Structure and Function in Catatonia

Catatonia is a nosologically unspecific syndrome, which subsumes a plethora of mostly complex affective, motor, and behavioral phenomena. Although catatonia frequently occurs in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), specific patterns of abnormal brain structure and function underlying catatonia are unclear at present. Here, we used a multivariate data fusion technique for multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to investigate patterns of aberrant intrinsic neural activity (INA) and gray matter volume (GMV) in SSD patients with and without catatonia. Resting-state functional MRI and structural MRI data were collected from 87 right-handed SSD patients. Catatonic symptoms were examined on the Northoff Catatonia Rating Scale (NCRS). A multivariate analysis approach was used to examine co-altered patterns of INA and GMV. Following a categorical approach, we found predominantly frontothalamic and corticostriatal abnormalities in SSD patients with catatonia (NCRS total score ≥ 3; n = 24) when compared to SSD patients without catatonia (NCRS total score = 0; n = 22) matched for age, gender, education, and medication. Corticostriatal network was associated with NCRS affective scores. Following a dimensional approach, 33 SSD patients with catatonia according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision were identified. NCRS behavioral scores were associated with a joint structural and functional system that predominantly included cerebellar and prefrontal/cortical motor regions. NCRS affective scores were associated with frontoparietal INA. This study provides novel neuromechanistic insights into catatonia in SSD suggesting co-altered structure/function-interactions in neural systems subserving coordinated visuospatial functions and motor behavior.

Health services utilization among slum dwellers: An experience from Iran.

INTRODUCTION:Health services utilization is a complex behavioral phenomenon affected by multiple factors including availability, distance, cost and quality of health services as well as personal attitudes, cultural beliefs, and socioeconomic characteristics. This study aimed to assess the status of health-care utilization among dwellers of slums in one of the Iran's big cities.METHODS:This was a cross-sectional study in which 559 slums people were selected using a random clustered sampling method. Data on health services utilization were collected using health equity assessment and response tool questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis through SPSS ver. 22.RESULTS:In this study, 42.5% (238) people who required outpatient services. 21% (118) of them were able to use them. Furthermore, among the families, who needed outpatient services during the past month, 15% (38) were able to use the services for at least once. Regarding inpatient services, 62% (349) of people needed hospitalization, of which 31% (175) were able to be hospitalized. Age (P = 0.2), gender (P = 0 <001), marital status (P = 0 <001), income status (P = 0.1), and education (P = 0.21) determined utilization of outpatient services; however, inpatient services utilization was affected by age (P = 0.03), gender (P = 0.02), marital status (P = 0 <001), and income status (P = 0.32). The final model of multiple regression showed that, there was a relationship between age (odds ratio [OR] =1.7, confidence interval [CI] 95% = 0.47–0.88), marital status (OR = 2.78, CI 95% = 0.64–1.2), and the use of inpatient services.CONCLUSION:The utilization of health services in slum areas is not desirable. As it was showed that the utilization of health services in slums people is a multifactorial event; thus, proper planning and policy for this increasingly demand are essential.

Formative Research on a Social Marketing Campaign to Promote the Consumption of Healthy Breakfast and Snacks: A Qualitative Study

Background: The elimination of breakfast and the high consumption of low-value snacks are becoming more frequent and common among adolescents. Nutrition is a complex behavioral phenomenon that is associated with the specific cultural and environmental issues of each society as well as psychological features.This qualitative research was conducted to identify factors affecting breakfast consumption behavior in adolescents using the social marketing framework. Materials and Methods: A qualitative research based on the social marketing framework was conducted through directed content analysis in the high schools of Isfahan and Khorramabad, Iran, in 2016. Data were collected through seven focus group discussions and 33 in-depth, semi-structured; interviews conducted in person with both male and female students, the parents, and the teachers and were analyzed simultaneously in three phases, namely preparation, organization and reporting. Results: The results obtained in the present study within the social marketing framework were coded into the four categories of product, place, price and promotion. The product category had four subcategories, including favorite taste sought in breakfast, breakfast preparation, breakfast serving style, variety and the healthful features of breakfast. The price category had four subcategories, including time, psychological, social and financial prices. The promotion category had three subcategories, including official channels, unofficial channels, and educational materials and equipment. The place category had two subcategories, including having breakfast at school or having breakfast in an outdoor space. Conclusion: The promotion of healthy breakfast as a product, requires that first its important features be considered, including the favorite taste sought in breakfast, second that it be promoted through channels most popular with students, and most importantly, that its price be reduced by using incentives such as serving breakfast at school as an attractive place for students.