Social Behavior Research Articles

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS).

Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information about its convergent validity, we calculated correlations between scores earned by 235 children with autism on the VB-MAPP and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), a commonly used assessment with good reliability and validity. We obtained moderate or strong positive correlations between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS Communication, Socialization, and Daily Living Skills subdomains. There was also a strong positive correlation between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS overall raw score. These findings suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment measures aspects of social and communicative behavior comparable to those indexed by these VABS subdomains which, like prior findings, supports the use of the Milestones Assessment. No significant relationship was observed between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Internalizing, Externalizing, or overall Maladaptive Behavior scores. These findings, like prior findings, question the value of the VB-MAPP's Barriers Assessment as a measure of maladaptive behavior.

From Social Stress and Isolation to Autonomic Nervous System Dysregulation in Suicidal Behavior.

In this narrative review we wanted to describe the relationship of autonomic nervous system activity with social environment and suicidal spectrum behaviors. Patients with suicidal ideation/suicide attempt have higher sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and lower parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity in resting conditions and during acute stress tasks compared with patients without suicidal ideation/suicide attempt. Death by suicide and violent suicide attempt also are related to SNS hyperactivation. Similarly, a SNS/PNS imbalance has been observed in people with childhood trauma, stressful life events or feelings of loneliness and isolation. Social support seems to increase PNS control and resilience. Due to the importance of the social context and stressful life events in suicidal behavior, SNS/PNS imbalance could act as a mediator in this relationship and be a source of relevant biomarkers. Childhood trauma and stressful life events may impair the autonomic nervous system response in suicidal patients. Loneliness, isolation and social support may act as moderators in acute stress situations.

Ecology and social behavior of the midday gerbil Meriones meridianus: Insights from long-term research in the wild and seminatural environments

The present review provides a compilation of the published data on the ecology and social behavior of midday gerbils. Both field studies and observations under semi-natural conditions provide evidence that the midday gerbil is a nocturnal, primarily granivorous rodent that lives in highly seasonal habitats. A typical feature of the midday gerbils’ spatial organization is formation of multi-male–multi-female associations (breeding colonies) in which male home ranges overlap each other and with female ranges to a great extent, while females tend to occupy exclusive home ranges. The mating system of this species can be defined as polygynandry or promiscuity; males appear to compete for access to receptive females. The social structure in the midday gerbil is primarily based on aggressive interactions between conspecifics resulting in a dominance hierarchy among males and site-dependent dominance among females, especially during the breeding season. After the cessation of reproduction, a tendency towards more pronounced gregariousness appears, and midday gerbils form wintering groups; gerbils, however, lead solitary lives within these groups. Overall, the data presented expand our understanding of socio-ecology of gerbils.

Unveiling the Dynamics of Religion and Social Cohesion in Kabul: Perspectives from Kabul University Academics

This study delves into the complex relationship between religion and social solidarity among professors at Kabul University, aiming to uncover the factors influencing community cohesion within the academic environment. Employing a mixed-methods approach, documentary research and field surveys were conducted to gather data. The primary instrument, a structured questionnaire, captured personal demographics and assessed respondents' perspectives on various dimensions of religion. Through expert consultations and pilot testing, questionnaire validity and reliability were ensured. Descriptive analysis revealed significant correlations between social cohesion and dimensions of religious beliefs, norms, rituals, and individual religiosity. Furthermore, regression analysis unveiled noteworthy findings: religiosity positively influenced social cohesion, with a significant coefficient (B = 0.422, p < 0.05), while norms derived from religious teachings exhibited a non-significant effect (B = 0.072, p > 0.05) on social behavior. Additionally, ethnic diversity within the university community had varying impacts on social solidarity, with significant coefficients for Tajik and Hazara ethnic groups. These findings shed light on the intricate interplay between religion, ethnicity, and social cohesion within academic settings, offering valuable insights for policymakers, community leaders, and scholars seeking to foster inclusivity and collective well-being in diverse urban contexts.

Effects of one-hour daily outdoor access on milk yield and composition and behaviors of tethered dairy cows.

We investigated the effects of outdoor access for one-hour per day (ODA) on milk yield and composition and behaviors of tethered dairy cows. Eleven all-day tethered dairy cows were treated the ODA for two weeks. To evaluate the effect of ODA on milk yield, we first calculated the average daily milk yield of each cow for three days during two weeks before the ODA, three days before the ODA, three days at the end of the ODA, and three days during two weeks after the ODA. We then compared the milk yield change during the ODA with that for two weeks before and two weeks after the ODA. The effects of ODA on milk compositions and behaviors were evaluated by comparing the average values for each composition and behavior for the three days before the ODA and the last three days of the ODA. The decrease of milk yield during the two weeks of ODA was significantly higher than that during the two weeks before ODA (p<0.01). The milk fat rate was significantly higher during ODA than before ODA (p<0.05). Lactose rate was significantly lower during ODA than before ODA (p<0.05). The concentrations of milk urea nitrogen, ketone bodies, and free fatty acids in the milk were significantly higher during ODA than before ODA (p<0.05). The mean total duration per day of lying during ODA was significantly lower than that before ODA (p<0.05). The walking steps per one-hour outdoor access were 158.4 ± 54.7. The social behavior during the one-hour outdoor access of the 11 cows was 53 times/h/herd. . Our results suggested that ODA promotes the express of normal behavior in dairy cows, but even one hour of ODA decreases milk production in cows, which may drop producers' profits without some financial supplementation.

A Peer Trade-off Model of Personality Disorder Traits During Adolescence

This Viewpoint paper argues for a peer trade-off model of personality disorder (PD) traits during adolescence that allows for both positive (e.g., popularity, peer acceptance) and negative (e.g., peer rejection, peer victimization, peer exclusion) peer outcomes. The need for new interpersonal (dsy)function models of PD traits during adolescence is urgent because most research has focused on internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, as well as adults, who differ from adolescents in the value that they place on different social behaviors. Available clinical treatments for PD traits have also been based on findings with adults. Thus, new models are not only needed but would have profound etiological, diagnostic, and treatment implications. We describe preliminary findings that support our proposed peer trade-off model. In conclusion, we describe promising new directions to further evaluate the model and advance knowledge about PD traits during adolescence.

Chronic disease patients have fewer social contacts: A pilot survey with implications for transmission dynamics

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) are the most important cause of death in the world. The socio-economic costs associated with NCDs makes it imperative to prevent and control them in the 21st century. The severe toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken worldwide is an unfortunate illustration of our limited insight into the infectious risk for the global population. Co-incidence between NCD and infection offers an underexplored opportunity to design preventive policies. In a pilot survey, we observed that the NCD population displays a substantial reduction in their social contacting behavior as compared to the general population. This indicates that existing mathematical models based on contact surveys in the general population are not applicable to the NCD population and that the risk of acquiring an infection following a contact is probably underestimated. Our demonstration of reduced social mixing in several chronic conditions, raises the question to what extent the social mixing is influenced by the burden of disease. We advocate the design of disease-specific contact surveys to address how the burden of disease associates with social contact behavior and the risk of infection. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic offers an unprecedented opportunity to gain insight into the importance of infection in the NCD population and to find ways to improve healthcare procedures.

Antibiotic exposure alters the honeybee gut microbiota and may interfere with the honeybee behavioral caste transition.

Behavioral division is essential for the sustainability and reproduction of honeybee populations. While accumulating evidence has documented that antibiotic exposure interferes with bee behavioral divisions, how the gut microbiome, host physiology, and genetic regulation are implicated in this process remains understudied. Here, by constructing single-cohort colonies, we validated that the gut microbiota varied in composition between age-matched nurse and forager bees. Perturbing the gut microbiota with a low dose of antibiotic retained the gut bacterial size, but the structure of the microbial community continuously diverged from the control group after antibiotic treatment. Fewer foragers were observed in the antibiotic groups in the field experiment. A combinatorial effect of decreased gut metabolic gene repertoires, reduced brain neurotransmitter titers, and downregulated brain immune genes could potentially be related to behavioral tasks transition delay. This work indicates that the disturbance to both the gut microbiome and host physiologies after antibiotic exposure may have implications on social behavior development, highlighting the need for further research focusing on antibiotic pollution threatening the honeybee population's health.

The Impact of WeChat Platform on Social Interaction Under the Perspective of Situational Theory

The new media environment will promote new interactions and relationships. This paper attempts to use the situation theory of media to explore the impact of the WeChat platform on social behavior and analyze the new communication scenes created by the WeChat platform, and the new communication scenes have changed the interaction behavior and communication relationship. These issues have become an important exploration of the current in-depth understanding of online social media. This essay combines and summarizes the new media situations that WeChat has constructed and discuss the influences of these situations on social interactions according to situation theory. This research also explores how WeChat scenario affects its clients’ communication behaviors and relations through the methodology of depth interview, questionnaires and participatory-observation. Through the combing of the media scenes and their influences on WeChat and expand the analysis of the two virtual scenes of group chat and circle of friends. The user realizes the common presence of the virtual body through the WeChat group chat scene.. In the circle of friends, the users have the autonomy to control the screen, and can switch the front and back areas in the scene of the circle of friends at will. WeChat makes the online and offline scenes continue to merge through the expansion of the offline acquaintance circle and the social interaction of strangers on the line at the same time. Using in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys, the author finds that the interaction scene of WeChat construction has two effects on social interaction behavior. On one hand, some new methods of communications have emerged. The virtual scenario socialization creates the interaction between human and machine, and the open scene of WeChat makes the user's personality and ability become their shining point which can makes them attractive. The user uses "likes" as a way of communication in the situations. On the other hand, the expression package came into being in order to provide more scene information. Situations changes in the front, middle, and back areas affect the user's expression package usage behavior.

A vasopressin circuit that modulates mouse social investigation and anxiety-like behavior in a sex-specific manner

One of the largest sex differences in brain neurochemistry is the expression of the neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) within the vertebrate brain, with males having more AVP cells in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) than females. Despite the long-standing implication of AVP in social and anxiety-like behaviors, the circuitry underlying AVP's control of these behaviors is still not well defined. Using optogenetic approaches, we show that inhibiting AVP BNST cells reduces social investigation in males, but not in females, whereas stimulating these cells increases social investigation in both sexes, but more so in males. These cells may facilitate male social investigation through their projections to the lateral septum (LS), an area with the highest density of sexually differentiated AVP innervation in the brain, as optogenetic stimulation of BNST AVP → LS increased social investigation and anxiety-like behavior in males but not in females; the same stimulation also caused a biphasic response of LS cells ex vivo. Blocking the vasopressin 1a receptor (V1aR) in the LS eliminated all these responses. Together, these findings establish a sexually differentiated role for BNST AVP cells in the control of social investigation and anxiety-like behavior, likely mediated by their projections to the LS.

Fostering autonomy in vocational college students: A fusion of metacognitive strategies and social cognitive learning theory

The aim of this study is to investigate how to foster vocational college students' autonomy in learning by integrating metacognitive strategies and social cognitive learning theory. The study uses social cognitive learning theory to look at metacognitive strategies in a systmematic and thorough way. It looks for similarities and places where the two can be combined in order to come up with a new and effective way to teach. 1) The integration of metacognitive strategies and social cognitive learning theory offers innovative perspectives and strategies for educational practice, fostering students' autonomy and social adaptability; 2) Through dual monitoring of cognition, nurturing social cognition, and deep integration of metacognitive strategies, educational practices can enhance students' cognitive control and social interaction abilities. 3) Future educational endeavors should focus on eliciting metacognitive awareness, integrating metacognitive strategies into teaching practices, and emphasizing social cognitive elements in evaluation mechanisms to address the complex challenges of modern education. 4) The fusion of these theories presents challenges in theoretical integration, teaching practices, assessment systems, and professional development, requiring innovative solutions and comprehensive support for educators and students alike. This study emphasizes the importance of teaching students reflective learning practices and actively cultivating metacognitive regulation abilities through cooperative learning. Furthermore, it underscores the necessity of integrating social cognitive aspects into assessment practices, thereby proposing an innovative educational approach.

Analysis of Image Interaction and Social Motivation in Virtual Communities

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between image interaction and social motivation in virtual communities, and take Instagram and TikTok as case studies. First, the conceptual characteristics of virtual communities and the defined forms of image interaction are analysed, and then the classification of social motivation and its impact on user behaviour are explored, as well as the role of image interaction in shaping the social ecosystem, the social atmosphere and the user's social network. In Instagram, image interaction behaviours were found to be positively correlated with user engagement, increasing users' exposure and social influence. In TikTok, on the other hand, social identity based on image interaction was closely related to user satisfaction, promoting user loyalty and stickiness to the platform. In summary, image interaction, as an important form of social behaviour in virtual communities, has a positive impact on the development of the community and the social experience of users, but it also needs to pay attention to issues such as information security and content regulation.

Examining the Role of Employee Social Intrapreneurial Behavioural and Job Satisfaction as Mediators of Employee Commitment

This study investigates the series of mediating effects of employee social intrapreneurial behaviour and job satisfaction on innovative organizational culture and employee commitment. This research aims to explore the relationship between an innovative organizational culture, employee intrapreneurial behaviour, employee job satisfaction, and employee job commitment in the manufacturing sector of Kuwait, a developed economy. Literature reviews analyses core concepts and their associated domains to discover gaps in existing research by examining definitions, dimensions, and relevance. The examination of relevant research identified significant knowledge deficiencies. The framework examines employee social intrapreneurial behaviour by incorporating several aspects such as idea generation, idea promotion, and idea realization. The current study utilized quantitative research methods. The researcher utilized SPSS version 28 to analyses the numerical data collected through a questionnaire to meet the study questions. The questionnaire was distributed using both computerized and self-administered ways to increase the response rate. We have obtained an extensive list of contact names for all manufacturing companies in Kuwait. The study is based on three primary theories: Self Determination Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Theory of Planned Behaviour. This study aims to develop a new formula to promote a culture of social innovation. The research findings suggest that Employee Social Intrapreneurial Behaviour (ESIB) has a notable influence on manufacturing enterprises in Kuwait. Employee social intrapreneurial behaviour and job satisfaction were shown to have a mediating impact on innovative organizational culture and employee commitment. The research's theoretical framework enhances managers' understanding of the significance of intrapreneurship and how organizations can facilitate its development at both individual and organizational levels. Received: 28 January 2024 / Accepted: 28 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

Mortuary Practices, Rituality, and Commemorative Places: A View of Kohne Tepesi in the Southern Basin of the Araxes River, Iran

ABSTRACT Ritual practices as behavior, and the cognitive acknowledgment of life and death, foster a depth in social identity, collective social memory, and a societal worldview. This paper outlines the evidence of Early Bronze Age burial practices in northwestern Iran to discuss the newly discovered chamber tombs at Kohne Tepesi within the broader context of mortuary practices during the middle and last part of the 3rd millennium b.c. The findings from Kohne Tepesi support the idea that, at least for parts of Kura-Araxes society, burial rites and commemoration of the dead played a crucial role in their worldview. Furthermore, this site demonstrates that the changes in symbolic practices and social behavior during the Early Kurgan period were not spontaneous but rooted in the last phases of the Kura-Araxes period and that the perceptions of earlier traditions had been conserved in long-term social memory.

Minimal Social Cues, Body Proportion, Head Shape, and Participant’s Gender on the Trustworthiness of Social Robots

Exploring and validating factors that may influence the trustworthiness of social robots is of great significance to improving the effect of human-robot interaction. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of several design factors on people’s perceptions of the trustworthiness of social robots. The research variables were social cues (ie, watching-eyes configuration, control configuration, and neutral configuration), head shape (ie, round head and rectangular head), body proportion (ie, low body proportion and high body proportion), and participant’s gender (ie, male and female). Twelve static synthetic social robots were created and presented to the participants as digital pictures. A total of 175 participants took part in the experiment through the online survey via the convenience sampling method. The generated results were as follows: (1) The robots with round heads appear to be more trustworthy than those with rectangular heads. (2) Robots with high body proportion are considered to be more trustworthy than robots with low body proportion. (3) Minimal social cues and body proportion of robots also have a significant interaction effect on improving the trustworthiness of robots. In the watching-eyes configuration, high body proportion is considered more trustworthy than low body proportion. On one hand, the results of this study can provide a good reference for the appearance form of social robots in human-robot interaction to serve human beings, and on the other hand, it also lays a foundation for further exploring the influence of social cues elicited by a series of social robot appearances and social behaviors regarding the trustworthiness of social robots.

The influence of business students’ horizontal and vertical network behavior on their learning and performance

Drawing on network behavior literature, this research examines how business students’ extra-classroom social network behavior for learning with peers (i.e., horizontal network behavior) and with the instructor (i.e., vertical network behavior) influences their learning, which in turn affects their grade performance. It also investigates the moderation of perceived instructor support on the relationship between their vertical network behavior and learning. Using data from 163 undergraduate business students, we found that extra-classroom horizontal and vertical network behavior for learning increases their grade performance via enhanced learning. We also found that extra-classroom vertical network behavior is more likely to be positively associated with their learning when they perceive strong instructor support.

Patterns of spontaneous neural activity associated with social communication abilities among infants and toddlers showing signs of autism.

Early disruptions to social communication development, including delays in joint attention and language, are among the earliest markers of autism spectrum disorder (autism, henceforth). Although social communication differences are a core feature of autism, there is marked heterogeneity in social communication-related development among infants and toddlers exhibiting autism symptoms. Neural markers of individual differences in joint attention and language abilities may provide important insight into heterogeneity in autism symptom expression during infancy and toddlerhood. This study examined patterns of spontaneous electroencephalography (EEG) activity associated with joint attention and language skills in 70 community-referred 12- to 23-month-olds with autism symptoms and elevated scores on an autism diagnostic instrument. Data-driven cluster-based permutation analyses revealed significant positive associations between relative alpha power (6-9Hz) and concurrent response to joint attention skills, receptive language, and expressive language abilities. Exploratory analyses also revealed significant negative associations between relative alpha power and measures of core autism features (i.e., social communication difficulties and restricted/repetitive behaviors). These findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying typical and atypical social communication development in emerging autism and provide a foundation for future work examining neural predictors of social communication growth and markers of intervention response.

Threat, safety, safeness and social safeness 30 years on: Fundamental dimensions and distinctions for mental health and well-being.

In 1993, the British Journal of Clinical Psychology published my paper titled 'Defence and safety: Their function in social behaviour and psychopathology'. The paper highlightsthat to understand people's sensitivity to threat, we also need to understand their ability to identify what is safe. This paper offers an update on these concepts, highlighting distinctions that were implicit but not clearly defined at the time. Hence, the paper seeks to clarify distinctions between: (i) threat detection and response, (ii) safety and safety seeking, (iii) safeness and (iv) their social and non-social functions and forms. Threat detection and response are to prevent or minimize harm (e.g., run from a predator or fire). Safety checking relates to monitoring for the absence and avoidance of threat, while safety seeking links to the destination of the defensive behaviour (e.g., running home). Safety seeking also relates to maintaining vigilance to the appearance of potential harms and doing things believed to avoid harm. Threat-defending and safety checking and seeking are regulated primarily through evolved threat processing systems that monitor the nature, presence, controllability and/or absence of threat (e.g., amygdala and sympathetic nervous system). Safeness uses different monitoring systems via different psychophysiological systems (e.g., prefrontal cortex, parasympathetic system) for the presence of internal and external resources that support threat-coping, risk-taking, resource exploration. Creating brain states that recruit safeness processing can impact how standard evidence-based therapies (e.g., exposure, distress tolerance and reappraisal) are experienced and produce long-term change.

Perspective taking as a transdiagnostic risk factor for interpersonal dysfunction

ObjectiveNumerous psychiatric populations have demonstrated reduced tendency to adopt others’ perspectives relative to those without psychiatric illness; yet, the clinical implications of these deficits remain unclear. We examined whether impairments in perspective-taking are prospectively associated with symptom severity and functional outcomes in an acute psychiatric sample. We hypothesized that poorer perspective-taking would prospectively predict more severe depressive symptoms, functional impairment, and relationship problems. MethodParticipants were 421 adults seeking psychiatric treatment at a partial hospital program. Participants completed the following self-report questionnaires at admission and discharge: Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Patient Health Questionnaire, Work and Social Adjustment Scale, and Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale. We conducted cross-lagged panel models to estimate directional effects. ResultsConsistent with hypotheses, more frequent perspective-taking was significantly and prospectively associated with less overall functional impairment (β = −0.08, p = 0.04) and fewer relationship problems (β = −0.11, p = 0.02). When modelled together, perspective-taking remained a significant and bidirectional predictor of relationship problems, but not overall functional impairment. Inconsistent with hypotheses, perspective-taking did not prospectively predict depressive symptoms. ConclusionsResults suggest that perspective-taking deficits are uniquely associated with relationship problems among adults with severe mental illness and highlight a potential target for future intervention.

Supporting the Wellbeing of Those Left Behind: The Impact of Youth Development Programmes on Children in Highly Transient Schools

AbstractSchools are important in nurturing social skills and behaviours. Research consistently demonstrates that movement into/out of school (transience/mobility) disrupts positive social skill development, especially for students who frequently move. The impact of attending a highly transient school on non-mobile students is not as well-known. The current study explored the impact of values and life skill-based programme, Kiwi Can, on social development and the classroom climate for non-mobile children. Researchers administered surveys to students attending 15 intervention (i.e. Kiwi Can programme; n = 763) and 9 control (n = 456) schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. We examined the impact of programme participation by school transience level (high, middle, low) and length of school participation (new, experienced). The results indicate that students attending highly transient schools struggled to build social relationships, feel connected, demonstrate care and compassion to others, and behave in prosocial ways. They also felt less safe at their schools. Students participating in Kiwi Can for more than two years (experienced schools) showed fewer negative effects of transience on social development than less experienced schools. This research highlights the plight of students who are ‘left behind.’