Social Processes Research Articles

Distinct neural correlates of accuracy and bias in the perception of facial emotion expressions

ABSTRACT We investigated neural correlates of Emotion Recognition Accuracy (ERA) using the Assessment of Contextualized Emotions (ACE). ACE infuses context by presenting emotion expressions in a naturalistic group setting and distinguishes between accurately perceiving intended emotions (signal), and bias due to perceiving additional, secondary emotions (noise). This social perception process is argued to induce perspective taking in addition to pattern matching in ERA. Thirty participants were presented with an fMRI-compatible adaptation of the ACE consisting of blocks of neutral and emotional faces in single and group-embedded settings. Participants rated the central character’s expressions categorically or using scalar scales in consequent fMRI scans. Distinct brain activations were associated with the perception of emotional vs. neutral faces in the four conditions. Moreover, accuracy and bias scores from the original ACE task performed on another day were associated with brain activation during the scalar (vs. categorical) condition for emotional (vs. neutral) faces embedded in group. These findings suggest distinct cognitive mechanisms linked to each type of emotional rating and highlight the importance of considering cognitive bias in the assessment of social emotion perception.

Abstract PR012: Social and Structural Influences of Preventive Cancer Screenings for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adults in Hawaiʻi

Abstract Background: Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) are hindered by sociocultural, geographic, and environmental factors that contribute to cancer health disparities, often masked by aggregated data with Asian Americans. An average of 7,393 Hawai‘i residents are diagnosed with invasive cancer yearly, and rates are disproportionate ethnically; . Native Hawaiians and Micronesians suffer higher mortality rates for breast cancer (24.9 and 21.6 per 100,000) than White women (17.0). This study aims to investigate social drivers of health behaviors among NHPI in Hawaiʻi by examining social factors that influence cancer screenings through mixed methods. Methods: This mixed methods study is a follow-up to a cross-sectional survey administered in 2018 to 3 Pacific Islander ethnic subgroups: Native Hawaiians, Chuukese, and Marshallese in Hawaiʻi using Respondent Driven Sampling within public housing (N=1,010 NHPI). Disparate cancer screening practices were uncovered within these groups when compared to Hawaiʻi state data. Logistic regression was used to analyze predictors of colon, breast, and cervical cancer screenings. The Gelberg Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations and socio-ecological model served as the theoretical models. To triangulate the findings, 16 semi-structured interviews with adults living within the communities first surveyed were conducted in 2023 to uncover any additional drivers of health behaviors that the regression missed. Results: Quantitative findings include cultural/linguistic misunderstandings between NHPI and healthcare providers. Participants who indicated difficulty understanding a provider’s instructions because of language were 51% less likely to be screened for cervical cancer (p = .04). Individuals who hold neutral acculturation to both their ethnic and American culture are less likely to be screened for cancer. Those whose responses fell in a neutral category were 40% less likely than those with a high ethnic identity to have had a colon cancer screening (p = .02). Qualitative findings demonstrate differing views among Pacific Islander groups including competition for resources between groups within public housing. All of the interviewees highlight the role of God and faith in decision making. Informational exchanges take place mainly within the family and cohabitants. From triangulating the findings, there is a lack of strong social ties/networks that could facilitate health-based resources and knowledge. Families are not discussing self-care or family histories of disease, which are instrumental in the early detection of cancers and missed within the regression. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the social drivers of cancer screenings for NHPI communities in Hawaiʻi. Novel insights for the fields of medical sociology and public health are highlighted by influential social processes to NHPI cancer screening behaviors. Recommendations include further research and programs that focus on and foster social dynamics of these communities in relation to cancer screenings. Citation Format: Mark L. Willingham Jr., Kevin Cassel, Wei Zhang, Tressa P. Diaz, Angela Sy, Ian Pagano, Munirih R. Ta'afaki, Angelina G. Mummert. Social and Structural Influences of Preventive Cancer Screenings for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Adults in Hawaiʻi [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PR012.

Past and Present of Social Inequality: Analysing Structure and Future Trends

The purpose of the article is to highlight the peculiarities of fundamental and applied forms of social inequality in the context of cultural and historical experience and prospects of civilisational development. Social differentiation has a diverse character, which forms the diversity of parameters of this socio-cultural phenomenon. The purpose of scientific research is to unify social indicators that activate and determine the level of inequality in society. Social processes are marked by contradictions in the worldview and mental understanding, so the issue of inequality is regulated by clear and understandable theoretical, methodological, legal, and socio-cultural guidelines. The research methodology is focused on the scientific and sociological methodological cluster. A sociological study based on content analysis, monitoring, and expert opinions allows us to determine the structure and manifestations of social inequality. Long-term sociological observations and in-depth analytical descriptions form the constants of the fundamental nature of social inequality. The results of the study emphasise the need to correlate the fundamental understanding of social inequality and the applied manifestation of this phenomenon in the socio-cultural space. In today's dynamic world, traditional and sustainable interpretations of inequality are hardly accepted, since the current principles of social development involve rapid permanent changes that determine the parameters of social inequality almost online. Under such conditions, society needs new flexible parameters that will determine the quantitative and qualitative parameters of social inequality. Thus, social inequality is an integral element of cultural and historical experience, having formed the fundamental dimensions of this phenomenon, while its prospects require regulation by society to avoid and mitigate the negative impact of social inequality in the form of injustice, discrimination, chauvinism, etc. Promising areas of research on the problem of social inequality include focusing on the dynamics of the social structure, which fundamentally changes the fundamental and targeted understanding of social inequality, leading to inadequate assessments of threats associated with the direct manifestation of social inequality in society.

The effects of positive and negative workplace gossip on employees’ work engagement: a social information processing process

The effects of positive and negative workplace gossip on employees’ work engagement: a social information processing process

Transformative social innovation and rural collaborative workspace assemblages as a means of prefiguring community economies

Background Collaborative Workspaces are rapidly growing and evolving across the world. Traditionally understood as an urban phenomenon, most research understands them as either ‘entrepreneurial-led’, as profit-driven and commercial spaces such as business incubators and accelerators, or ‘community-led’ as being bottom-up, not-for-profit ventures aimed at catering for the needs of their community. Recent years however have seen their diffusion beyond large urban agglomerations to small towns and villages, with their functions assumed to be more community-orientated. At the same time, social innovation, or social innovation processes have been gaining prominence in academia, policy, and practice, as they address societal problems and hold potential for new forms of social relations. This paper attempts to provide a novel framework towards understanding the transformative potential of rural collaborative workspaces, as they engage in processes of social innovation, by drawing from diverse and community economies literature and assemblage thinking. Methods The paper uses international case study comparison between rural Austria and Greece (One case from each country). Methods applied were: semi-structured interviews (N=28), participant observation and focus groups (2). Results Community-led rural collaborative workspaces hold transformative potential from i) their ability to assist rural actors with their capacities and realizing their desires and ii) changing individual subjectivities towards collective. Through changing social relations in praxis and perceptions, we examine how social innovation processes through collaborative workspaces can be understood as a means of opening new economic subjectivities towards creating community economies as their transformative potential. Conclusions Although rural collaborative workspaces hold potential for societal transformation, they require further institutionalization and support to move beyond the interstitial and symbiotic stages of transformation.

Benefits of Outdoor Activities for Kindergarten Children

Children who attend kindergarten are in the golden age for child development. During this period, children undergo significant advancements in various domains, such as physical, mental, and social development. Thus, outdoor activities are a crucial means to support development in these areas. The present literature review will examine the advantages of engaging children in outdoor activities during their kindergarten years. Our objective is to clarify the various benefits of outdoor activities for kindergarten children, including physical, cognitive, social, mental health, and sensory processing advantages.

Transition in action: toward a social theory of the governance of transitions

This article explores how a re-interpretation of the socio-technical, socio-ecological and transition design approaches to transition from the point of view of Niklas Luhmann’s general systems theory of society. The need to understand and promote changes that include a technological and ecological dimension has led to different approaches, such as socio-technical or socio-environmental approaches, to incorporate links with society. While these approaches often include sociological insights, they rarely offer a general understanding of how these are embedded into society. We need a new environmental sociology that helps catalyze change processes with a collectively reorganized society, empowering more radically transformative actions to change the current structures and processes that have led us to where we are today. The article offers a cross-sectional look at the socio-ecological and socio-technical systems literature, specifically for what concerns their understanding of the ‘systems’ in transition and how they can be governed, and re-interpret it from the theoretical lens of the deep sociological knowledge, which refers to the profound understanding of social systems and their dynamics, embedded in Luhmann’s theory of social systems. From here, we suggest the second-order coupling for a sociologically grounded understanding of the interactions that comprise socio-ecological and socio-technical systems, heterogeneous and almost self-organizing assemblies of social, technical, and natural elements and processes. At the same time, third-order couplings are analyzed, focused on governance, relationships between operations, and structures mediated by a deliberate attempt to ensure coherence and coordination against the autonomy and heterogeneity of socio-techno-ecological systems. Therefore, this manuscript offers a deeper conceptual and methodological understanding of socio-techno-ecological couplings and systems in the context of sustainability transformation and gives insights into its governance.

Lower empathy for face mask wearers is not explained by observer's reduced facial mimicry.

Facial occlusion alters social processes that rely on face visibility, including spontaneous mimicry of emotions. Given that facial mimicry of emotions is theorized to play an important role in how we empathize or share emotions with others, here we investigated if empathy was reduced for faces wearing masks because masks may reduce the ability to mimic facial expressions. In two preregistered experiments, participants rated their empathy for faces displaying happy or neutral emotions and wearing masks or no masks. We manipulated mimicry by either blocking mimicry with observers holding a pen in between their teeth (Experiment 1) or by producing a state of constant congruent mimicry by instructing observers to smile (Experiment 2). Results showed reduced empathy ratings for masked faces. Mimicry overall facilitated empathy, with reduced empathy ratings when mimicry was blocked and higher empathy ratings when it was instructed. However, this effect of mimicry did not vary with mask condition. Thus, while observers were impaired in sharing emotions with masked faces, this impairment did not seem to be explained by a reduction in facial mimicry. These results show that mimicry is an important process for sharing emotions, but that occluding faces with masks reduces emotion sharing via a different mechanism.

Impact of an immersive engineering program on children's understanding of and interest in engineering: Addressing gender stereotypes

AbstractBackgroundThe gender gap in engineering presents a critical barrier to achieving a diverse and innovative engineering workforce. This gap is influenced by gender stereotypes, socialization processes, masculine culture, and insufficient early experiences with engineering. These contribute to diminished STEM self‐concept, interest, and participation among women.Purpose/HypothesisThis study assessed an engineering outreach program's impact on children's understanding of and interest in engineering and beliefs about who can be an engineer. It compared whether discussions of gender bias differentially influenced these outcomes for girls and boys.Design/MethodThe study was a short‐term sequential quasi‐experimental design with boys and girls in grades 4–5. Six classroom groups attended a half‐day engineering field trip and were randomly assigned to two conditions: Gender Presentation or No Gender Presentation. Pre‐ and post‐program surveys measured changes in understanding of and interest in engineering and beliefs about who can be an engineer.ResultsAll children, regardless of gender or condition, had higher understanding of and interest in engineering after the program, but also demonstrated a bias in selecting men over women as engineers. Participants reported that both girls and boys like and are good at engineering and these ratings increased from the pre‐program to the post‐program survey.ConclusionThis research affirms the effectiveness of immersive and inclusive programming in enhancing children's understanding of and interest in engineering. No substantial gender‐specific differences emerged regarding the impact of discussions on gender biases. The program underscores the value of early inclusive educational interventions in fostering equitable interest in engineering among young students.

Operationalizing the social capital of collaborative environmental governance with network metrics

Abstract Background
Social capital is frequently invoked as a reason for engaging in collaborative environmental governance. Yet we have a limited understanding of how collaborative environmental governance mobilizes different types of social capital and how the advantages and costs of social capital accrue for different groups of people. Explicit measures of social capital, such as through social network methods, will help build an understanding of how social capital facilitates collective processes and for whom.
Methods
We reviewed highly cited articles in Web of Science and Scopus using “social capital” as the search term to identify foundational and emergent social capital concepts. In the context of collaborative environmental governance, we operationalized these social capital concepts with network measures drawn from our expertise and highlighted existing empirical relationships between such network measures and collaborative outcomes.
Review results
We identified two different camps of social capital concepts - one based on social relations that could be readily operationalized with social network measures and the other based on actor characteristics that can further contextualize network data. Relational social capital concepts included social relations among actors; the collective social setting in which relations are embedded; and the advantages and costs that social capital confers to individuals and the collective. Social capital concepts based on actor characteristics included socio-cognitions (e.g., trust, norms, identification with a group, shared meanings) and community engagement (e.g., group membership, civic participation, volunteerism). Empirical evidence using social network approaches to measure social capital reveals patterns in relationship building that influence collaborative and other sustainability outcomes.
Discussion
Social network approaches described here may help define and quantify the social capital mobilized by collaborative governance. Additional research is necessary to track the social capital of collaboratives over time, link it to outcomes, and better understand the social justice implications of collaborative governance.

Reciprocal cognitive and emotional interaction in STEMM university learning and teaching

University learning and teaching involves contrasting and interacting emotional experiences. Even in disciplines considered as objective as Science and Engineering, emotion plays a significant role in catalysing and sustaining learning. Although emotions are individually felt, they are socially constructed between people. This is especially relevant in group-based learning evident in much contemporary higher education. This paper applies the concept of emotion socialization to illustrate how groups of students and teachers cope and succeed in cognitively and emotionally challenging learning settings. The study is based on qualitative data collected across six STEMM university departments, from 280 students via in-situ questionnaires and from 20 teachers via group and follow-up interviews. Two key findings offer insight into processes of reciprocal influence on cognition and emotion. The first relates to ways in which students’ and teachers’ differing knowledge-related goals and relationships with knowledge influenced cognition and emotion, uncovering previously unacknowledged connections. The second relates to how students’ comparisons of progress towards academic goals with peers contributed considerably to their emotional experiences in cognitively and emotionally helpful and unhelpful ways. Practical implications are presented, including possibilities for capitalising on existing emotion socialization processes and enhancing how they influence cognition and emotional well-being.

Genre‐based writing in the German classroom in the age of generative AI

AbstractGenre, defined as a “staged goal‐oriented social process” (Martin, 2009), has long stood as a key principle in second‐language writing instruction. This article presents the principles underpinning genre theory as it relates to the language curriculum and the five phases of genre‐based L2 writing pedagogy. This pedagogy provides the foundation for a case study in which students in an intermediate, fifth‐semester German class at a small liberal arts college received instruction in the film review genre. Student products written prior to classroom work with film reviews are compared with those written after students had gained an awareness and understanding of the film review genre, revealing the positive effects of genre‐based instruction on student writing. In light of the future impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on writing pedagogy, the final section addresses how ChatGPT and similar platforms can potentially enhance genre‐based pedagogies. The article suggests ways in which generative AI can be incorporated into each phase of genre‐based second language writing instruction. As technologies such as ChatGPT become established in language classrooms, it is clear that the writing process must share the stage with written products, both in instruction and assessments.

Integrating digitization into public administration: Impact on national security and the economy through spatial planning

The evolutionary development of the security sphere, on the one hand, and the rapid involvement of digital technologies (and, as a consequence, changes) on the other, formulate the first level of problematization of this study. The study seeks to provide evidence of how the dynamics of changes in the security sphere are formed by constructing an empirical model of changes and assessing the state security system within the framework of spatial planning under the influence of digital technologies. Particular attention in the study is paid to spatial planning and spatial development in smart cities the main threats to national security are systematized, located in closely intersecting planes of digital technologies, social processes, and economic interests. It is shown that areas covered by spatial planning, and particularly smart cities, pose a serious local threat to national and international security policy at the levels of political, social, technical, and economic governance.

Cortical oscillations are modified by expertise in dance and music: Evidence from live dance audience.

Over the past decades, the focus of brain research has expanded from using strictly controlled stimuli towards understanding brain functioning in complex naturalistic contexts. Interest has increased in measuring brain processes in natural interaction, including classrooms, theatres, concerts and museums to understand the brain functions in the real world. Here, we examined how watching a live dance performance with music in a real-world dance performance setting engages the brains of the spectators. Expertise in dance or music has been shown to modify brain functions, including when watching dance or listening to music. Therefore, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from an audience of dancers, musicians and novices as they watched the live dance performance and analysed their cortical oscillations. We compared intrabrain oscillations when participants watched the performance (with music) or listened to the music alone without the dance. We found that dancers have stronger fronto-central and parieto-occipital theta phase synchrony (4-8Hz) than novices when watching dance, likely reflecting the effects of dance experience on motor imagery, multisensory and social interaction processes. Also, compared with novices, dancers had stronger delta phase synchrony (0.5-4Hz) when listening to music, and musicians had stronger delta phase synchrony when watching dance, suggesting expertise in music and dance enhances sensitivity or attention to temporal regularities in movement and sound.

A brief compassion focused therapy group for outpatients with psychosis

ABSTRACT Background A service evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of a six-session compassion focused therapy (CFT) group for outpatients with psychosis was conducted. Methods Fourteen groups were run across two services, with different facilitators following the same protocol. One hundred and nine clients were recruited, of whom 80 completed groups, and 71–76 completed measures of key social processes targeted by CFT. Results Overall attendance and satisfaction ratings were good. A thematic analysis of feedback suggested a range of therapeutic benefits. A mixed-effects model with maximum likelihood estimation, incorporating random effects at two hierarchical levels, showed significant improvements in pre-post measures of social safeness (p < .001, effect size .53) and self-compassion (p = .002, effect size .50), but changes in perceived social rank were only at trend level (p = .087, effect size .21). Discussion These findings indicate that CFT groups are feasible and acceptable for outpatients with psychosis, and that it is possible to effectively target, in six-weeks, some of the key processes central to CFT. The next step will be to replicate these findings using a more robust methodology, and further research is needed to determine the impact of CFT groups on other outcomes (e.g. distress, well-being, symptoms, and valued goals) and whether impact is maintained over time.

Heterogeneity in the development of differential reinforcement: examining predictive power of definitions and differential association from a social learning perspective

Social learning theory is a prominent framework for understanding the relevance of socialization processes for predicting behavior. While recent research has focused on placing these processes within developmental contexts, there remain gaps in understanding how differential reinforcement for involvement in antisocial behavior may develop across adolescence and emerging adulthood and how definitions and differential association predict development. All 11 waves of the Pathways to Desistance dataset were analyzed, comprising the responses of 1354 justice-involved youth across seven years post-adjudication. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify developmental patterns of differential reinforcement and regression modeling was used to examine predictors of development. Results indicated that a two-group model of development best fit the reinforcement data (High, Low). Greater endorsement of antisocial definitions and greater differential association with deviant peers and a significant and positive interaction between these constructs predicted increased odds of assignment to the High group.

Innovative Approaches to the Training of Social Workers for Work with Psychoactive Substance Dependence: An Interdisciplinary Strategy

The article analyzes the need for implementing an interdisciplinary approach in the education of social workers specializing in assisting individuals, including those dependent on psychoactive substances and those living with HIV. The main focus is on integrating knowledge from medicine, psychology, law, and social work to improve the quality of training and enhance the professional competencies of these specialists. The study highlights existing deficiencies in the educational programs for social workers in the Kyrgyz Republic, particularly in addressing the specific needs of individuals dependent on psychoactive substances. The article proposes an educational module (a teaching and methodological complex) designed to fill the gaps in the education of social workers in the field of addiction services. The pilot testing of this educational module showed its relevance and effectiveness in raising the level of knowledge on issues related to addiction, methods of providing social support, and social accompaniment. It is important to note that the interdisciplinary approach, which combines theoretical knowledge with practical training, helps in understanding the complexities of the issue and improves the outcomes of social adaptation for individuals with psychoactive substance dependence. The main conclusion of the article is that the use of innovative educational models (teaching modules) significantly enhances the quality of social work within the continuum of addiction services. The author stresses the importance of further developing and implementing such educational programs/modules for social workers, as this will overall improve the rehabilitation and socialization process for individuals with psychoactive substance dependence.

Impact of sincere social interaction on tourist citizenship behavior——Perspective from “self” and “relationships

Research on tourist citizenship behavior (TCB) has gained increasing attention. However, the influence of host-tourist interaction on TCB is yet to be thoroughly explored. Utilizing the social information processing theory, this study develops a dual-mediation model to examine the influence of sincere social interaction on TCB, considering the perspectives of “self” and “relationship”, and examining the moderating effect of self-construal. The study empirically tests the moderated dual-mediation model. The results indicate that sincere social interaction directly impacts on TCB. Psychological comfort and emotional closeness mediate the relationship between sincere social interaction and TCB. Tourists' self-construal moderates the impact of sincere social interaction on emotional closeness, and sincere social interaction indirectly influences TCB through emotional closeness. The results underscore the substantial impact of sincere social interaction in fostering TCB, offering a comprehensive theoretical insight into the precise mechanisms by which sincere social interaction shapes TCB.

Sex differences in neural representations of social and nonsocial reward in the medial prefrontal cortex

The reinforcing nature of social interactions is necessary for the maintenance of appropriate social behavior. However, the neural substrates underlying social reward processing and how they might differ based on the sex and internal state of the animal remains unknown. It is also unclear whether these neural substrates are shared with those involved in nonsocial rewarding processing. We developed a fully automated, two choice (social-sucrose) operant assay in which mice choose between social and nonsocial rewards to directly compare the reward-related behaviors associated with two competing stimuli. We performed cellular resolution calcium imaging of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) neurons in male and female mice across varying states of water restriction and social isolation. We found that mPFC neurons maintain largely non-overlapping, flexible representations of social and nonsocial reward that vary with internal state in a sex-dependent manner. Additionally, optogenetic manipulation of mPFC activity during the reward period of the assay disrupted reward-seeking behavior across male and female mice. Thus, using a two choice operant assay, we have identified sex-dependent, non-overlapping neural representations of social and nonsocial reward in the mPFC that vary with internal state and that are essential for appropriate reward-seeking behavior.

Prospects of Artificial Intelligence in the Annihilation of Caste

The masquerading effect of caste has engulfed the social structure in such a way that the myth associated with it has perked up in the ideas of existence, making it a reality regulating day-to-day affairs of interaction. Most of the time, it is considered a functional prerequisite. The stratification associated with it has conformity emanating from the acceptance of the identity, which is not evading even after migrating to foreign countries to participate and be part of the capitalist mode of production. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a creation of the human mind. Caste is also a creation of the human mind. Technology has always paved the way for the betterment of society if used properly. Caste practices have always divided society and contaminated the public sphere with divisive manifestations of their stronghold in influencing social processes and policies. Annihilation of caste was the published work of Dr B. R. Ambedkar in the year 1936, and still the content and the context are seen in society. In the backdrop of this, the article engages with the role (if any) of AI in mitigating the divisions in society. The readers are already aware of the repercussions of the caste system since time immemorial. The diffusion of technology has always been trying to be inclusive, depending on the socio-economic aspect of any society. Industrialization along with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution has rendered several avenues and opportunities for the so-called lower caste people to come forward and amalgamate themselves with the so-called upper caste people in the socio- economic process. The article discusses the prospect of the annihilation of caste by the influence of AI. It also engages in discussing caste as a main component of individual and community identity, which has become immune to any form of change in society. The article is based on available secondary sources.