Social Behavior Research Articles

The impact of modified Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy in social adjustment functions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their parents' stress levels: A nonrandomized clinical trial.

This study aims to investigate the potential of a modified Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) intervention in promoting social adjustment and reducing their parental stress among children exhibiting symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research also highlights the mechanisms and advantages of employing modified CBGT to address negative symptoms associated with ADHD in children. The study was conducted at Fuzhou Children's Hospital of Fujian Province, with a total of 20 pairs of parents and children with ADHD participating. The assessment utilized measures including SNAP, Barratt Impulsivity, and Conners to evaluate changes in the children's social adjustment abilities and core/associated ADHD symptoms before and after CBGT intervention. Additionally, the Parental Stress Index was employed to gauge the level of stress experienced by the parents. Consequently, CBGT interventions have shown substantial improvements in children's social adjustment abilities and have proven to be a significant source of stress relief for parents.

Social Skills and Reciprocal Behavior with a Virtual Player Among Children With and Without SLD/ADHD.

The study aimed to compare reciprocal behavior during interaction with a virtual-player in a computer game between children with typical development (TD) and children with specific-learning-disabilities (SLD) and/or with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and to examine its correlation with social skills. A total of 120 children (43 SLD/ADHD, 77 TD) aged 9-11years participated. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires focusing on social skills and reciprocity and played a computer game in which such social situations arose. Results indicated no difference between the groups in self-reported social skills or reciprocity. However, the children's actual reciprocal behavior during gameplay revealed different results: the SLD/ADHD group exhibited higher levels of selfish (helping others for personal gain) and lower levels of altruistic reciprocity (helping others for their benefit) compared to the TD group. Furthermore, a correlation was found between self-reported social skills and reciprocity, as well as with the reciprocal-patterns observed in the gameplay.

Characteristics and immune functions of the endogenous CRISPR-Cas systems in myxobacteria.

Serving as an adaptive immune system, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and their associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) empower prokaryotes to fend off the intrusion of external genetic materials. Myxobacteria are a collective of swarming Gram-stain-negative predatory bacteria distinguished by intricate multicellular social behavior. An in-depth analysis of their intrinsic CRISPR-Cas systems is beneficial for our understanding of the survival strategies employed by host cells within their environmental niches. Moreover, the experimental findings presented in this study not only suggest the robust immune functions of CRISPR-Cas in myxobacteria but also their potential applications.

Enhancing perspective-taking and empathy in children with autism spectrum disorder through asymmetric VR games and peer collaboration

ABSTRACT Children with ASD experience pervasive social cognitive impairments, primarily manifested as challenges in social communication and reciprocal social behavior. These inherent deficits indirectly affect the development, based on the Theory of Mind, and empathy capacity in children with ASD, which are crucial in developing social skills and communicative interaction abilities. Research suggests that children with ASD struggle to judge and interpret the intentions, behaviors, and metaphors involved in social interaction. This impacts their abilities to engage in effective interpersonal communication and social interaction. Therefore, the present study developed a tool called Share VR. This asymmetric VR technology combines peer collaboration and cooperative games to hone the empathetic abilities in children with ASD. The objective is to stimulate the application of their abilities while enhancing their understanding of others’ behavioral intentions. In the experimental verification phase, the study recruited five children with ASD and three typically developing children to participate in Asymmetric VR multiplayer games. The games involved cooperation, competition, and exploration across three different game levels. Further, we used a three-stage experimental validation using a multiple-baseline across subjects design to confirm whether this method effectively enables children with ASD to acquire empathy through peer collaboration, game participation, and cooperative assistance.

Generalisation of Social Communication Skills by Autistic Children During Play-Based Assessments Across Home, School and an Unfamiliar Research Setting.

We investigated autistic children's generalisation of social communication over time across three settings during a play-based assessment with different adults and explore the potential moderating effects on generalisation of age, nonverbal IQ and level of restricted and repetitive behaviours. The social communication abilities of 248 autistic children (2-11years, 21% female, 22% single parent, 60% white) from three UK sites were assessed from 1984 video interactions in three contexts with three different interaction partners (parent/home, teaching assistant/school, researcher/clinic) at baseline, midpoint (+ 7m) and endpoint (+ 12m) within the Paediatric Autism Communication Trial-Generalised (PACT-G), a parent-mediated social communication intervention. Children's midpoint social communication at home generalised to school at midpoint and to clinic at endpoint. Generalisation was stronger from home to school and clinic than school to home and clinic. Generalisation was not moderated by age, nonverbal IQ or restricted and repetitive behaviour. Broader child development did not explain the pattern of results. The current study is the largest study to date to explore generalisation with autistic children and provides novel insight into their generalisation of social communication skills. Further research is needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of facilitators of generalisation across settings and interaction partners in order to develop targeted strategies for interventions to enhance outcomes for young autistic children.

Birds of a feather age together: telomere dynamics and social behavior predict life span in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Birds of a feather age together: telomere dynamics and social behavior predict life span in female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Characterization of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in the Southern giant pouched rat and comparison to other rodents

Vasopressin and oxytocin are well known and evolutionarily ancient modulators of social behavior. The distribution and relative densities of vasopressin and oxytocin receptors are known to modulate the sensitivity to these signaling molecules. Comparative work is needed to determine which neural networks have been conserved and modified over evolutionary time, and which social behaviors are commonly modulated by nonapeptide signaling. To this end, we used receptor autoradiography to determine the distribution of vasopressin 1a and oxytocin receptors in the Southern giant pouched rat (Cricetomys ansorgei) brain, and to assess the relative densities of these receptors in specific brain regions. We then compared the relative receptor pattern to 23 other species of rodents using a multivariate ANOVA. Pouched rat receptor patterns were strikingly similar to hamsters and voles overall, despite the variation in social organization among species. Uniquely, the pouched rat had dense vasopressin 1a receptor binding in the caudate-putamen (i.e., striatum), an area that might impact affiliative behavior in this species. In contrast, the pouched rat had relatively little oxytocin receptor binding in much of the anterior forebrain. Notably, however, oxytocin receptor binding demonstrated extremely dense binding in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, which is associated with the modulation of several social behaviors and a central hub of the social decision-making network. Examination of the nonapeptide system has the potential to reveal insights into species-specific behaviors and general themes in the modulation of social behavior.

Social capital and consumer co-creation behaviors on tourism social media: the mediating role of psychological ownership

Purpose Consumer co-creation is a relational process through which consumers’ experiences, resources and knowledge are exchanged. This study aims to investigate the indirect effects of social capital on consumer co-creation behaviors, especially citizenship behaviors, through psychological ownership. Design/methodology/approach A survey was designed to measure social network, trust and shared vision, psychological ownership and citizenship behaviors; it was completed by 527 users of the Ctrip. Using data from the survey, a PLS model was constructed to depict the relationships between the key variables. Findings The results showed psychological ownership mediated the relationship between social capital and citizenship behaviors. Specifically, the chain-mediating effects of social capital dimensions (i.e. social network, shared vision and trust) on citizenship behaviors through psychological ownership were validated. Practical implications The rise of social media as a platform for consumer co-creation calls for a fundamental rethinking of traditional approaches to collaboration between companies and consumers. This study offers several suggestions for tourism companies to better engage with consumers on social media platforms. Originality/value This study extends current research by introducing social capital theory as a theoretical foundation for exploring tourism social media and determining the mediating role of psychological ownership between social capital and citizenship behaviors.

Early pandemic recreational fishing patterns across the urban-to-rural gradient in the U.S.

In 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted individual and social behaviors and norms, including outdoor activities. A recreational angling survey of 18,000 licensed anglers from 10 states (AR, CT, FL, IA, MO, NC, SC, TX, UT, WY) was conducted in summer 2020 to characterize recreational fishing trends during the first few months of the pandemic. The study presented here builds off this survey by combining the survey data with county-level human population density and spring 2020 per capita COVID-19 cases to understand how anglers responded to the pandemic along the urban-to-rural continuum. Specifically, we wanted to know if population density or COVID-19 cases per capita influenced angler-reported 1) changes in license sales, 2) number of fishing trips, and 3) motivation for fishing. Overall results suggest that per capita COVID-19 cases were more influential in driving angler behavior than population density in the early pandemic (01 March 2020–31 May 2020). At the onset of the pandemic, high COVID-19 case counts were associated with an uptick in recreational angling activity. In counties with greater COVID-19 case counts, there was greater angler recruitment (i.e., attraction of new individuals to recreational fishing) and earlier license purchases. Anglers aged ≥40 years and earning ≥$50,000 living in areas of greater per capita COVID-19 cases also went on more fishing trips than they typically would. Angler motivations varied across gradients of population density and per capita COVID-19 cases: anglers living in areas of higher population densities were more likely to report fishing for stress relief, sport, and competition among friends, and anglers living in areas of higher per capita COVID-19 cases were more likely to report fishing for sport and because they had free time and less likely to report fishing for food. Management efforts can focus on retaining and reactivating pandemic anglers.

Assessing Reliability for Quantifying Social Interactions among Crayfish

Animal behavior is a useful way to evaluate the environment and can be a predictive tool to assess not only the effects of treatments in a laboratory setting, but also the status of ecological habitats. As invasive species of crayfish encroach on territories of native species, the social behaviors and interactions can be informative for ecological studies. For a wider and more impactful effect, training community scientists using a scoring system to record the social interactions of crayfish that includes both the level of aggression and intensity would provide useable data to monitor the environment. Amateur scientists with little training were fairly reliable in their average scoring of the crayfish and the maximum behavior score with an expert as well as among themselves. However, the number of interactions was not as a reliable metric to compare with the expert or just among the amateurs.

Party competition on social media: Evidence from politicians' tweets

AbstractA blooming research agenda has begun examining the influence of party competition dynamics on politician social media behaviour. Most studies focus on the US context, generally finding little evidence that party competition dynamics influence which policy issues politicians attend to on these platforms. Instead, I turn to the Danish context and show how party competition dynamics exert a substantial influence on politicians' attention to issues in their tweets. First, I map the level of politician issue attention on Twitter across several years outside election campaigns. Second, I show that party issue ownership and the status of a party as a government or opposition party strongly influence politicians' attention to issues on the platform. Third, I provide novel insights into how the interplay between party issue ownership and internal party organisation influences politician issue attention on Twitter. The findings indicate that the tweets posted by politicians are an integral aspect of contemporary party competition.

Correction to: On the Science of Reading: How Social Justice, Behavior Analysis, and Literacy Instruction Converge

Correction to: On the Science of Reading: How Social Justice, Behavior Analysis, and Literacy Instruction Converge

STUDI KUALITATIF PENGALAMAN IBU DROP OUT ALAT KONTRASEPSI DI MASA PANDEMI COVID-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in the health care system, particularly in reproductive health services that focus on family planning services. The emergence of the policy of limiting social behavior and physical distancing has led to behavioral changes in female family planning acceptors during the pandemic. The disruption of the family planning service system has caused an increase in the incidence of drop out of contraceptives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this research to identify about the experience and reasons for mothers to drop out of contraceptives during the COVID-19 pandemic. This method of research is qualitative research used a phenomenological approach. Result: The experience of mothers dropping out of contraceptives during the COVID-19 pandemic varied, and the reasons for mothers to drop out of contraceptives included being worried and afraid of contracting COVID-19, low knowledge of mothers about contraceptives. Conclusion: Feelings of worry and fear of contracting COVID-19 are the main reasons for mothers to drop out of contraceptives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, providing comprehensive family planning services and monitoring for repeat visits to family planning acceptors are the main focus and special attention.

The impact of alcohol on affiliative verbal behavior: Asystematic review and meta-analysis.

Language is a fundamental aspect of human social behavior that is linked to many rewarding social experiences, such as social bonding. Potential effects of alcohol on affiliative language may therefore be an essential feature of alcohol reward and may elucidate pathways through which alcohol is linked to social facilitation. Examinations of alcohol's impact on language content, however, are sparse. Accordingly, this investigation represents the first systematic review and meta-analysis of alcohol's effects on affiliative language. We test the hypothesis that alcohol increases affiliative verbal approach behaviors and discuss future research directions. PsycInfo and Web of Science were systematically searched in March 2023 according to our preregistered plan. Eligible studies included social alcohol administration experiments in which affiliative verbal language was assessed. We present a random-effects meta-analysis that examines the effect of alcohol compared to control on measures of affiliative verbal behavior. Our search identified 16 distinct investigations (comprising 961 participants) that examined the effect of alcohol on affiliative verbal behavior. Studies varied greatly in methods and measures. Meta-analytic results demonstrated that alcohol is modestly associated with increases in affiliative verbal behavior (Hedges' g = 0.164, 95% CI [0.027, 0.301], p = 0.019). Study quality was rated using an adapted version of the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies and did not significantly moderate alcohol's effects. This study provides preliminary evidence that alcohol can increase affiliative verbal behaviors. This effect may be an important feature of alcohol reward. Given heterogeneity in study features, low study quality ratings, and limited reporting of effect size data, results simultaneously highlight the promise of this research area and the need for more work. Advances in language processing methodologies that could allow future work to systematically expand upon this finding are discussed.

From Parental Behavior to Sexual Function: Recent Advances in Oxytocin Research

Abstract Purpose of Review Oxytocin plays many diverse roles in physiological and behavioral processes, including social activity, parental nurturing, stress responses, and sexual function. In this narrative review, we provide an update on the most noteworthy recent findings in this fascinating field. Recent Findings The development of techniques such as serial two-photon tomography and fiber photometry have provided a window into oxytocin neuroanatomy and real-time neuronal activity during social interactions. fMRI and complementary mapping techniques offer new insights into oxytocin's influence on brain activity and connectivity. Indeed, oxytocin has recently been found to influence the acquisition of maternal care behaviors and to mediate the influence of social touch on brain development and social interaction. Additionally, oxytocin plays a crucial role in male sexual function, affecting erectile activity and ejaculation, while its role in females remains controversial. Recent studies also highlight oxytocin's interaction with other neuropeptides, such as melanin-concentrating hormone, serotonin, and arginine vasopressin, influencing social and affective behaviors. Finally, an update is provided on the status of clinical trials involving oxytocin as a therapeutic intervention. Summary The exploration of oxytocin's complexities and its interplay with other neuropeptides holds promise for targeted treatment in various health and disease contexts. Overall, these findings contribute to the discovery of new and specific pathways to allow therapeutic targeting of oxytocin to treat disorders.

Environmental enrichment alleviates hyperalgesia by modulating central sensitization in a nitroglycerin-induced chronic migraine model of mice

BackgroundChronic migraine (CM) is a debilitating neurofunctional disorder primarily affecting females, characterized by central sensitization. Central sensitization refers to the enhanced response to sensory stimulation, which involves changes in neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity, and neurotransmitter release. Environmental enrichment (EE) can increase the movement, exploration, socialization and other behaviors of mice. EE has shown promising effects in various neurological disorders, but its impact on CM and the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether EE has the potential to serve as a cost-effective intervention strategy for CM.MethodsA mouse CM model was successfully established by repeated administration of nitroglycerin (NTG). We selected adult female mice around 8 weeks old, exposed them to EE for 2 months, and then induced the CM model. Nociceptive threshold tests were measured using Von Frey filaments and a hot plate. The expression of c-Fos, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and inflammatory response were measured using WB and immunofluorescence to evaluate central sensitization. RNA sequencing was used to find differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways. Finally, the expression of the target differential gene was investigated.ResultsRepeated administration of NTG can induce hyperalgesia in female mice and increase the expression of c-Fos and CGRP in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC). Early exposure of mice to EE reduced NTG-induced hyperalgesia in CM mice. WB and immunofluorescence revealed that EE inhibited the overexpression of c-Fos and CGRP in the TNC of CM mice and alleviated the inflammatory response of microglia activation. RNA sequencing analysis identified that several central sensitization-related signaling pathways were altered by EE. VGluT1, a key gene involved in behavior, internal stimulus response, and ion channel activity, was found to be downregulated in mice exposed to EE.ConclusionEE can significantly ameliorate hyperalgesia in the NTG-induced CM model. The mechanisms may be to modulate central sensitization by reducing the expression of CGRP, attenuating the inflammatory response, and downregulating the expression of VGluT1, etc., suggesting that EE can serve as an effective preventive strategy for CM.

The impact of acute violent videogame exposure on neurocognitive markers of emotional empathic state.

Research examining the purported association between violent gaming and aggression remains controversial due to concerns related to methodology, unclear neurocognitive mechanisms, and the failure to adequately consider the role of individual differences in susceptibility. To help address these concerns, we used fMRI and an emotional empathy task to examine whether acute and cumulative violent gaming exposure were associated with abnormalities in emotional empathy as a function of trait-empathy. Emotional empathy was targeted given its involvement in regulating not only aggression, but also other important social functions such as compassion and prosocial behaviour. We hypothesized that violent media exposure increases the risk of aberrant social behaviour by altering the aversive value of distress cues. Contrary to expectations, neither behavioural ratings nor empathy-related brain activity varied as a function of violent gaming exposure. Notably, however, activation patterns in somatosensory and motor cortices reflected an interaction between violent media exposure and trait empathy. Thus, our results are inconsistent with a straightforward relationship between violent media exposure and reduced empathy. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering both individual differences in susceptibility, and other aspects of cognition related to social functioning to best inform public concern regarding safe gaming practices.

Choline chloride shows gender-dependent positive effects on social deficits, learning/memory impairments, neuronal loss and neuroinflammation in the lipopolysaccharide-induced rat model of autism.

The neuroprotective effects of choline chloride, an essential nutrient, a precursor for the acetylcholine and synthesis of membrane phospholipids, have been associated with neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Its contribution to autism spectrum disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder, remains unknown. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the effects of choline chloride on social behaviours, and histopathological and biochemical changes in a rat autism model. The autism model was induced by administration of 100 μg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the 10th day of gestation. Choline chloride treatment (100 mg/kg/day) was commenced on PN5 and maintained until PN50. Social deficits were assessed by three-chamber sociability, open field, and passive avoidance learning tests. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL) and IL-17, nerve growth factor (NGF), and glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) levels were measured to assess neuroinflammatory responses. In addition, the number of hippocampal and cerebellar neurons and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression were evaluated. Social novelty and passive avoidance learning tests revealed significant differences in choline chloride-treated male rats compared with saline-treated groups. TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-17 were significantly decreased after choline chloride treatment in both males and females. NGF and GAD67 levels were unchanged in females, while there were significant differences in males. Histologically, significant changes in terms of gliosis were detected in hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions and cerebellum in choline chloride-treated groups. The presence of ameliorative effects of choline chloride treatment on social behaviour and neuroinflammation through neuroinflammatory, neurotrophic, and neurotransmission pathways in a sex-dependent rat model of LPS-induced autism was demonstrated.

Fail or pass? Investigating learning experiences and interactive roles in MOOC discussion board

In massive open online course (MOOC) discussion board, students' learning experience, reflecting implicit cognitive and affective states, is related to their learning outcomes and course's completion rates. The majority of researches about learning experience identification in MOOCs depend on post-hoc questionnaires, which may encounter issues such as personal biases, hazy memories, or time constraints, and distribution difficulty in MOOCs. Moreover, learning experience is influenced by students' interactions during learning but their relationship has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to address these issues. Firstly, it proposed an artificial intelligence-based text analysis approach for automatically identifying patterns of learning experiences from the large-scale students' posts in MOOC discussion board. It had performance advantage in terms of accuracy when compared with the other competing approaches. Secondly, this study defined students' interactive roles from both social relations and interaction behaviors in MOOC discussion board, and analyzed learning experiences corresponding to the different interactive roles. For students with high participation and low influence in interactions, flow and boredom were prone to happen, while for students with low participation and high influence in interactions, anxiety and apathy were easy to generate. Finally, this study revealed the effect of learning experience on learning achievement with respect to interactive role. For students with high participation characteristics, their learning achievements were less affected by learning experience, while for students less active in interaction, flow was related with good learning achievements. In summary, this study had significant methodological implications for automated learning experience identification. Moreover, this study revealed importance of interactive role in describing the interplay between learning experience and learning achievement, and provided suggestions for the improvement of MOOCs.

Utilizing social determinants of health to identify most vulnerable neighborhoods–Latent class analysis and GIS map

ObjectivesPublic Health officials are often challenged to effectively allocate limited resources. Social determinants of health (SDOH) may cluster in areas to cause unique profiles related to various adverse life events. The authors use the framework of unintended teen pregnancies to illustrate how to identify the most vulnerable neighborhoods. MethodsThis study used data from the U.S. American Community Survey, Princeton Eviction Lab, and Connecticut Office of Vital Records. Census tracts are small statistical subdivisions of a county. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to separate the 832 Connecticut census tracts into four distinct latent classes based on SDOH, and GIS mapping was utilized to visualize the distribution of the most vulnerable neighborhoods. GEE Poisson regression model was used to assess whether latent classes were related to the outcome. Data were analyzed in May 2021. ResultsLCA's results showed that class 1 (non-minority non-disadvantaged tracts) had the least diversity and lowest poverty of the four classes. Compared to class 1, class 2 (minority non-disadvantaged tracts) had more households with no health insurance and with single parents; and class 3 (non-minority disadvantaged tracts) had more households with no vehicle available, that had moved from another place in the past year, were low income, and living in renter-occupied housing. Class 4 (minority disadvantaged tracts) had the lowest socioeconomic characteristics. ConclusionsLCA can identify unique profiles for neighborhoods vulnerable to adverse events, setting up the potential for differential intervention strategies for communities with varying risk profiles. Our approach may be generalizable to other areas or other programs. Key messagesWhat is already known on this topicPublic health practitioners struggle to develop interventions that are universally effective. The teen birth rates vary tremendously by race and ethnicity. Unplanned teen pregnancy rates are related to multiple social determinants and behaviors. Latent class analysis has been applied successfully to address public health problems.What this study addsWhile it is the pregnancy that is not planned rather than the birth, access to pregnancy intention data is not available resulting in a dependency on teen birth data for developing public health strategies. Using teen birth rates to identify at-risk neighborhoods will not directly represent the teens at risk for pregnancy but rather those who delivered a live birth. Since teen birth rates often fluctuate due to small numbers, especially for small neighborhoods, LCA may avoid some of the limitations associated with direct rate comparisons. The authors illustrate how practitioners can use publicly available SDOH from the Census Bureau to identify distinct SDOH profiles for teen births at the census tract level.How this study might affect research, practice or policyThese profiles of classes that are at heightened risk potentially can be used to tailor intervention plans for reducing unintended teen pregnancy. The approach may be adapted to other programs and other states to prioritize the allocation of limited resources.