Complex Social Skills Research Articles

Virtual Reality at Workplace for Autistic Employees: Preliminary Results of Physiological-Based Well-Being Experience

Emotional health problems in the workplace often hinder the integration and retention of autistic employees (AE), a challenge identified in many sectors. Recent literature highlights the consequences of these problems, such as burnout leading to reduced productivity and resignation. Previous research supports the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) for training a variety of specific skills (e.g. riding a bus or plane travel), as well as more complex social skills, such as emotion recognition and functional communication. In addition, existing studies on using physiological self-monitoring in AE training offer a promising approach to promoting improved emotional health. The present paper reports on implementing a VR system that simulates workplace training and integration and enables real-time monitoring of three physiological signals, in five post-secondary autistic students. Using an Oculus Quest 2 and non-clinical grade sensors, the researchers delivered the VR intervention over three days to each participant. At the end of these interventions, the researchers measured the perceived satisfaction of these integrated systems, based on several technological criteria, on a 5-point scale. The integrated system received an overall rating of 4, suggesting its likelihood of acceptance and use. A preliminary analysis of a participant’s physiological responses to this VR intervention is also presented. This preliminary report suggests the efficacy of a VR workplace simulation and physiological self-monitoring in promoting emotional well-being and basic task training for post-secondary AE. The researchers’ observations and the proposal of a theoretical framework to enhance real-time emotional communication based on physiological markers for AE are also discussed.

Fostering social skills in the Flemish secondary accounting education: perceived challenges, opportunities, and future directions

ABSTRACT The accounting profession no longer merely accentuates hard accounting skills, but also increasingly soft social skills. Previous studies have shown that teamwork, communication, leadership, and critical thinking skills became indispensable. Because accounting education is no longer aligned with these needs of the profession, a skills gap has arisen between the competences graduates possess, and the competences employers demand. We will answer the call of scholars and policymakers to investigate social skills from early on, in secondary education. The research objective is twofold. First, it examines which types of social skills are being addressed in secondary accounting education. Second, it focuses on the challenges and opportunities experienced by accounting educators when addressing social skills. We answer this research objective via semi-structured interviews with 14 Flemish educational stakeholders who represented three educational levels (i.e. microlevel accounting teachers, mesolevel pedagogical counsellors, and macrolevel policymakers), hereby accommodating a multivocal perspective. Results revealed that teamwork and communication are emphasized more frequently than leadership and critical thinking. Second, teachers identified various challenges and opportunities, such as overcrowded curricula, student diversity, and complex social skills assessment. Important implications for accounting educators wanting to enhance students’ future employability by stimulating their social skills are discussed.

Designing and deploying a virtual social sandbox for autistic children

Purpose This exploratory study was intended to investigate the design and feasibility of using a web virtual reality based social learning space for autistic children at home. Materials and methods The researchers of the current study developed and implemented an open-source, web virtual reality based learning program for children with autism. Endorsing mixed-method convergent parallel design, we collected both qualitative and quantitative data from four autistic children, including repeated measures of social skills performance, self- and parent-reported social and communication competence, observation notes, and individual interviews. Results The study found preliminary evidence for a positive impact of deploying a virtual reality-based social sandbox on the practice and development of complex social skills for autistic children. All participants showed significant reduced social communication impairments from the pre- to the post-intervention phases. Nevertheless, participants’ social skills performance in the virtual world was mediated by two social task design features—external goal structure and individualization. Conclusions Play- and design-oriented social tasks in the three-dimensional virtual world framed meaningful social experiences or the naturalistic intervention for social skills development.

Intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester of pregnancy is a risk factor for neuropsychological disorders in childhood.

Intra-amniotic inflammation is a subclinical condition frequently caused by either microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity or sterile inflammatory stimuli, e.g., alarmins. An accumulating body of evidence supports a role for maternal immune activation in the genesis of fetal neuroinflammation and the occurrence of neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, and autism. The objective of this study was to determine whether fetal exposure to mid-trimester intra-amniotic inflammation is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in children eight to 12years of age. This is a retrospective case-control study comprising 20 children with evidence of prenatal exposure to intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester and 20 controls matched for gestational age at amniocentesis and at delivery. Amniotic fluid samples were tested for concentrations of interleukin-6 and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10, for bacteria by culture and molecular microbiologic methods as well as by polymerase chain reaction for eight viruses. Neuropsychological testing of children, performed by two experienced psychologists, assessed cognitive and behavioral domains. Neuropsychological dysfunction was defined as the presence of an abnormal score (<2 standard deviations) on at least two cognitive tasks. Neuropsychological dysfunction was present in 45% (9/20) of children exposed to intra-amniotic inflammation but in only 10% (2/20) of those in the control group (p=0.03). The relative risk (RR) of neuropsychological dysfunction conferred by amniotic fluid inflammation remained significant after adjusting for gestational age at delivery [aRR=4.5 (1.07-16.7)]. Of the 11 children diagnosed with neuropsychological dysfunction, nine were delivered at term and eight of them had mothers with intra-amniotic inflammation. Children exposed to intra-amniotic inflammation were found to have abnormalities in neuropsychological tasks evaluating complex skills, e.g., auditory attention, executive functions, and social skills, whereas the domains of reasoning, language, and memory were not affected in the cases and controls. Asymptomatic sterile intra-amniotic inflammation in the mid-trimester of pregnancy, followed by a term birth, can still confer to the offspring a substantial risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. Early recognition and treatment of maternal immune activation in pregnancy may be a strategy for the prevention of subsequent neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.

Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills.

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by differences in socio-pragmatic communication. These conditions are allocated within a “spectrum” of phenotypic variability. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for healthcare intervention and particularly safely advancing social abilities in children with ASD. Methods: In our study two types of intervention for improving social skills were compared: (i) emotional training obtained by the use of virtual reality (Gr1), (ii) traditional emotional training performed individually with a therapist (Gr2). We aimed to identify the intervention with the shortest acquisition time for the proposed social tasks. Results: Our findings show that both types of intervention had the same acquisition time for the recognition of primary emotions. However, for the use of primary and secondary emotions, the group using VR showed shorter acquisition times. Conclusions: These findings together with previous preliminary datasuggest that VR can be a promising, dynamic and effective practice for the support of basic and complex social skills of these individuals.

You can't sit with us…just kidding! An investigation into the association between empathy and prosocial teasing

AbstractProsocial teasing is the positive playful form of relational aggression, and studies have found children engage in playful teasing more often than aggressive teasing. Therefore, understanding the basic characteristics or skills that contribute to the more complex social skill of prosocial teasing is important. The current study focused on the role of empathy in students' perception of their engagement in two different forms of relational behaviors, playful and aggressive. Associations between empathy and engagement in playful and aggressive relational behaviors were investigated with 389 fifth‐grade students in the Midwest with the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) rating scale and modified Children's Social Behavior Scale—Self‐Report (CSBS‐S), along with gender interaction in those relationships. Results demonstrated that empathy was significantly and negatively related to the level of engagement in both relational aggression and prosocial teasing. No gender differences were found in levels of relational aggression or in prosocial teasing. Gender differences were observed in empathy, where girls reported higher levels of empathy than boys. Results indicated that empathy was a significant predictor of engagement in both relational aggression and prosocial teasing for both fifth‐grade boys and girls. Implications concerning these findings are discussed.

The Origins of Social Knowledge in Altricial Species.

Human infants are altricial, born relatively helpless and dependent on parental care for an extended period of time. This protracted time to maturity is typically regarded as a necessary epiphenomenon of evolving and developing large brains. We argue that extended altriciality is itself adaptive, as a prolonged necessity for parental care allows extensive social learning to take place. Human adults possess a suite of complex social skills, such as language, empathy, morality, and theory of mind. Rather than requiring hardwired, innate knowledge of social abilities, evolution has outsourced the necessary information to parents. Critical information for species-typical development, such as species recognition, may originate from adults rather than from genes, aided by underlying perceptual biases for attending to social stimuli and capacities for statistical learning of social actions. We draw on extensive comparative findings to illustrate that, across species, altriciality functions as an adaptation for social learning from caregivers.

Young children’s willingness to deceive shows in-group bias only in specific social contexts

The ability to deceive others is an early-emerging and socially complex skill, but relatively little is known about when and how a social partner’s identity affects young children’s willingness to lie. To understand how group membership affects children’s lying, we used a minimal group paradigm to examine children’s willingness to deceive in-group and out-group members across varied contexts that systematically varied in their costs and benefits. A total of 69 children aged 4 to 7 years played three versions of a sticker-hiding game: a Self-Benefit scenario (child could lie for personal gain), an Other-Benefit scenario (child could lie to help someone else), and a No-Benefit scenario (child could lie to spite someone else). Children lied the most in the Self-Benefit scenario, lying equally to in-group and out-group members in this context. When the potential for self-gain disappeared, however, in-group bias emerged. In the Other-Benefit scenario, children lied more to out-group members in order to help in-group members. Even when the potential to help another was removed (the No-Benefit scenario), children still engaged in more lie telling to out-group members. Results suggest that children’s lying is sensitive to group membership, but only in certain social situations, as children’s desire to benefit themselves may outweigh in-group bias. Future research should examine alternate contexts, such as lying to avoid punishment, to determine when group membership is most salient. Overall, results indicate that young children are able to flexibly apply a complex social cognitive skill based on group membership and contextual demands, with implications for social behavior and intergroup relations throughout development.

The social life of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus).

The Norway rat has important impacts on our life. They are amongst the most used research subjects, resulting in ground-breaking advances. At the same time, wild rats live in close association with us, leading to various adverse interactions. In face of this relevance, it is surprising how little is known about their natural behaviour. While recent laboratory studies revealed their complex social skills, little is known about their social behaviour in the wild. An integration of these different scientific approaches is crucial to understand their social life, which will enable us to design more valid research paradigms, develop more effective management strategies, and to provide better welfare standards. Hence, I first summarise the literature on their natural social behaviour. Second, I provide an overview of recent developments concerning their social cognition. Third, I illustrate why an integration of these areas would be beneficial to optimise our interactions with them.

Perencana yang Profesional dan Modern: Meningkatkan Peran Perencana dalam kerangka Perspektif Jangka Panjang Penjabaran Visi Indonesia 2045

This policy paper carries the theme: Towards Professional Planners in the Termination of Stages of RPJPN 2005-2025 and Determination of Strategy for Implementing Indonesias Vision 2045. With Sub-themes: Increasing the Role of Planners in the Long-Term Perspective Framework for the Indonesian Vision 2045. It is concluded that there are three problems faced in increasing the role of planners in the framework of the elaboration of the Indonesian Vision 2045, as well as in preparing policy recommendations to realize professional planners. The three problems are the lack of understanding of JFP regulations, the existence of "minor" opinions on JFP, and a lack of leadership commitment. To overcome these three problems, the authors propose four alternative policies and three types of recommendations to be carried out by the parties in a planned and coordinated manner. This policy paper recommends that to deal with the VUCA phenomenon, a planner must be visionary, innovative and agile. Furthermore, with the enactment of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and beyond, professional planners are required to have six abilities, namely: Complex Problem Solving, Social Skills, Process Skills, System Skills, Digital Skills, and Cognitive Abilities.

Video ethnography and reflexivity for the multidisciplinary team in cardiac theatres

Communication is a complex social skill that is constantly being refined and developed through our experiences. Development of communication skills is an iterative process and reflecting on past experiences enables one to critically analyse the effectiveness of their interactions with others. The concept of reflexivity provides a platform for self-analysis and self-evaluation; it is a highly personal and sometimes challenging technique that provides real time feedback. The aim is to elucidate the understanding between the healthcare professions and encourage development of team practice. In this study we have decided to use the combined approach of video ethnography and team reflexivity as described before by Carroll and colleagues.1 Data collection took place in cardiothoracic theatres of a tertiary referral hospital in South East London. Footage was captured during periods of inter-disciplinary communication such as: WHO checklist, going on cardiopulmonary by-pass (CPB), coming off CPB, and the sign-out phase. Selected clips were presented to the team in a debrief session where the facilitator guided discussions by encouraging individuals to critically analyse their performance and verbalise emotions and thoughts behind actions. Reflexive discussions revolved around power struggles displayed by the nurse trying to gain the team's attention, which lead to the surgeon taking lead of the situation. Flattening of the hierarchy is important hence members identified innovative techniques to enhance communication, including the use of a microphone during the sign in and out period. Most notably, the team suggested the development of a monitor for the perfusionist showing the surgical field, as miscommunication during CPB off phase could have severe consequences for the patient. Additional ideas included the use of a coding system during sign-out at the end of the case. All of these techniques draw attention to the dynamic nature of social interactions and increasing awareness of this has allowed individuals to guide their own practice within a complex unit. Effective use of videoethnography and reflexivity (VRE) has shown to improve teamwork, dissolve power relations, and equip participants with personalised constructive feedback. Healthcare is a dynamic environment, and we need to build our work force to face the challenging tasks in a clinical setting. The use of reflexivity lends itself to ideas of improvements by change, hence allowing personal and professional development. Reference1.Carroll K, Iedema R, Kerridge R. Qual Health Res 2008; 18: 380–90

Can a Robot Catch You Lying? A Machine Learning System to Detect Lies During Interactions.

Deception is a complex social skill present in human interactions. Many social professions such as teachers, therapists and law enforcement officers leverage on deception detection techniques to support their work activities. Robots with the ability to autonomously detect deception could provide an important aid to human-human and human-robot interactions. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the possibility to develop a lie detection system that could be implemented on robots. To this goal, we focus on human and human robot interaction to understand if there is a difference in the behavior of the participants when lying to a robot or to a human. Participants were shown short movies of robberies and then interrogated by a human and by a humanoid robot “detectives.” According to the instructions, subjects provided veridical responses to half of the question and false replies to the other half. Behavioral variables such as eye movements, time to respond and eloquence were measured during the task, while personality traits were assessed before experiment initiation. Participant's behavior showed strong similarities during the interaction with the human and the humanoid. Moreover, the behavioral features were used to train and test a lie detection algorithm. The results show that the selected behavioral variables are valid markers of deception both in human-human and in human-robot interactions and could be exploited to effectively enable robots to detect lies.

Virtual Reality Air Travel Training with Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Preliminary Report.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is categorized by deficits in social communication and interaction, alongside repetitive, restrictive behaviors or interests (RRBIs). Previous research supports the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) to train a variety of specific skills (i.e., riding a bus or crossing the street) as well as more complex social skills, such as emotion recognition and functional communication. The present reports the implementation of a VR-based air travel functional communication activity in five children diagnosed with ASD. Using an iPhone X and Google Cardboard device, researchers delivered the VR intervention once per week for 3 weeks to each participant. During these interventions, researchers measured activity completion ability on a 4-point scale. At week 4, all children participated in a real-world air travel rehearsal at the San Diego International Airport. Parents were asked to rate their child's air travel abilities before week 1 and after week 4. All children improved their air travel skills from pre- to postintervention, reflected in both the researchers' and parents' observations. All children navigated the real-world airport under their own power. This preliminary report suggests the efficacy of VR to teach basic air travel skills to young children diagnosed with autism. Clinician observations regarding attention to the VR and strategies for helping participants accept the intervention technique are discussed. Future iterations of this program will require larger sample sizes and more robust clinical measurements-such as communication samples and physiological monitoring.

The attractiveness, trustworthiness and desirability of autistic males’ online dating profiles

A lack of success through traditional, face-to-face dating has led some autistic adults to pursue relationships through online dating. Creating an online dating profile, however, is a process that requires a range of complex social skills, the ability to balance a number of social demands, and self- and other-awareness - all of which can be challenging for autistic people. This paper presents two studies investigating the perceived attractiveness, trustworthiness and desirability of autistic males' online dating profiles by females from the general population. In Study 1, 111 heterosexual females rated the autistic attributes and interests in an online dating profile as comparably attractive, trustworthy and desirable to date as an online dating profile comprising typical attributes and interests, but online dating profiles that mixed typical attributes with autistic interests were perceived to be less desirable to date. Study 2 investigated the impact of the wording of autistic characteristics and an explicit statement of a diagnosis of autism in 127 heterosexual females. Positive wording and an explicit statement of a diagnosis of autism enhanced perceived attractiveness and trustworthiness, but not desirability to date. The implications for the construction of autistic males’ online dating profiles are discussed.

Shy Geek, Likes Music, Technology, and Gaming: An Examination of Autistic Males' Online Dating Profiles.

Dating involves a range of complex social skills that autistic adults can often find challenging. Many autistic adults have turned to online dating, which in theory may ameliorate these social difficulties. The aim of this study was to explore, for the first time, how autistic males describe themselves in online dating profiles. The online dating profiles of 52 self-identified autistic males were analyzed using a combination of frequency and thematic analyses. A common pattern of self-description was identified, involving a combination of both desirable and undesirable characteristics. Themes included interests, negative descriptions of personality, ideal match, and autism. Findings are discussed in terms of desirability, the norms of online dating, and the benefits and costs of computer-mediated communication for autistic male online daters.

A design template for transforming games into twenty-first century skills assessments

PurposeThe resources needed to develop assessments of the twenty-first century skills, such as problem solving and collaboration, are huge, and require the introduction of cost-effective methods (Griffin and Care, 2015). The intention of the design template is to identify whether the presented approach to game development is viable for measuring collaborative problem solving (CPS) and if so, by using the template the same measures can be captured regardless of the specific task context. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper demonstrates a design template which utilises learning analytics and applies a measurement model to transform games into the twenty-first century assessments. The design template provides parameters for game design that provide sufficient data capture in which a measurement model can be applied. The learning analytics approach allows for capture of student behaviours in game play. By applying the measurement model, inferences can be made about demonstrated behaviours that are indicative of student ability.FindingsFollowing the task design template, it is evident that games can be designed taking into consideration the requirement for generalizability and measurement principles. In turn, tasks developed using a defined set of common characteristics and structure allow consistent measurement processes to be applied in an efficient and sufficient manner. In summary, this paper identifies a viable task design template in regards to design principles and scoring protocols for games generating measures of CPS.Originality/valueThis approach combines various fields of research to present an approach that is a feasible, effective and efficient method for capturing data that are useful for understanding complex social and cognitive skills. The design template presents a method by which games can be designed in a way that assesses cognitive and social skills and provides a platform on which additional games can be readily created.

Charisma as a Phenomenon in Social Work

Abstract The article represents the theoretical or conceptual description of the phenomenon of charisma, which is related to social work as professional activity and is focused in social worker, who is the leader in his / her professional activity. So why it is accentuated that personal charisma of a social worker is a constellation of complex social and emotional skills that allows charismatic individuals to influence others at deep emotional levels, communicate effectively with them, and build strong interpersonal relationships. Authors of the article discuss the possible answers to the following research question: How to recognize, accept and (self)develop personal charisma in social work? In the article the interdisciplinary pont of view is provided and amotional and social skills are discussed in relation to social worker‘s charisma. Authors conclude that Some of charisma-related skills are born innate, others are perfected over time, but the most important is proper application of skills. Charisma of a social worker is related to emotional intelligence, which consists of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Different social work situations require differently developed skills, which msut be developed through long life education, in which the self-managed learning through interactions and within the professional environment must be the priority.

Spontaneous social tool use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Although there is good evidence that social animals show elaborate cognitive skills to deal with others, there are few reports of animals physically using social agents and their respective responses as means to an end-social tool use. In this case study, we investigated spontaneous and repeated social tool use behavior in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented a group of chimpanzees with an apparatus, in which pushing two buttons would release juice from a distantly located fountain. Consequently, any one individual could only either push the buttons or drink from the fountain but never push and drink simultaneously. In this scenario, an adult male attempted to retrieve three other individuals and push them toward the buttons that, if pressed, released juice from the fountain. With this strategy, the social tool user increased his juice intake 10-fold. Interestingly, the strategy was stable over time, which was possibly enabled by playing with the social tools. With over 100 instances, we provide the biggest data set on social tool use recorded among nonhuman animals so far. The repeated use of other individuals as social tools may represent a complex social skill linked to Machiavellian intelligence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Роль образования в социализации детей и подростков с психической патологией

Background : the requirements for a person at the present stage the acquisition of both academic knowledge and complex social skills in the process of growing up presuppose. Their development is impossible outside the framework of systematic training activities and mastering the function of self-control. Education of children and adolescents with mental disorders and the presence of mental disorders is an important interdisciplinary problem, including along with education (including psychoeducation), socialization, as well the quality of their functioning in society in adulthood as determining. Purpose : to ascertain the modern tendencies in education of mental ill children and adolescents, their role in sociorehabilitative process. Material : the data of a long standing observation, treatment and follow-up of more than 3,500 mental ill children and adolescents (male: female ratio of 2,5:1) registered in one of the Moscow psychoneurological dispensery were analyzed. Results and conclusion : the prevalence of outpatients with non-psychotic mental pathology was established with nosological distribution as follows: 35% — organic non-psychotic disorders, 25–30% — mental retardation, 20–25% — neurotic, affective disorders and personality pathology in total, 13–15% — schizophrenia and schizophrenic spectrum disorders. 18–20% had disablement. In the whole contingent only 1–3% proved to be completely uneducated. The majority of the patients preserved ability for learning to a certain extent but 35–40% of them could not manage in common school and were need of special conditions. The main factors associated with educational difficulties in adolescents were considered. The impact of psychoeducation and psychotherapeutic programmes were emphasized.

Smart skills and education in a future economy

Whether the role of education is to prepare people for employment or to have meaningful lives in general, it will identify and develop skills and competencies, as well as vocational and personal attributes. Skills, such as critical thinking, novel ideation, and complex cognitive and social skills, are areas where humans continue to outperform smart machines. The purpose of this article is to review the skills and competencies that will be in demand in the future, with an eye to recent technological changes. First, macroeconomic data concerning higher education will be reviewed in order to illustrate the situation of tertiary education, with a focus on Poland. A significant decline in demand for tertiary education has been observed in Poland in the last few years, despite the good returns on investment in education, which are the highest among the OECD countries. The empirical part of this paper presents results of a pilot survey that aimed to provide insight into several key competencies and vocational attributes that are perceived to be relevant for a future economy, according to Polish employers. The primary data was collected manually, using a quantitative survey on three occasions at two different job fairs in Gdansk in March 2017. Work experience, new media literacy, and formal education were assessed as least relevant variables (x=13); learning and diligence were assessed as most relevant according to the studied target group (n=55). Furthermore, the study showed specific differences in perception, depending on the size of the employer.