Social Dyads Research Articles

Individual differences in developmental trajectories of affective attention and relations with competence and social reticence with peers.

This study examined individual differences in affective attention trajectories in infancy and relations with competence and social reticence at 24 months. Data collection spanned 2017 to 2021. Infants (N = 297, 53% White, 49% reported as assigned male at birth) recruited in South Central and Central Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey provided eye-tracking data at five assessments. Caregivers self-reported anxiety symptoms, infant temperamental negative affect, and infant competence at the final assessment. A subgroup of infants participated in a peer social dyad at the final assessment. Using group-based trajectory modeling, we found three groups of infants with different affective attention trajectories: affective attention increasers (n = 73), affective attention shifters (n = 156), and affective attention decreasers (n = 50). Affective attention increasers exhibited low intercepts with steep attention increases, particularly to angry facial configurations. Affective attention shifters exhibited middle intercepts with attention decreases to facial configurations but an attention increase to angry facial configurations. Affective attention decreasers exhibited high intercepts with steep attention decreases. Infants in the affective attention increasers group exhibited more competence when accounting for caregiver anxiety symptoms and infant temperamental negative affect. Group membership was not related to social reticence during the peer social dyad. Infants higher in temperamental negative affect exhibited more social reticence, particularly as the social dyad continued. Our results provide evidence for individual differences in developmental trajectories of affective attention and relations with toddler social behavior. Our results are primarily generalizable to rural and urban populations in the Midatlantic United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

212 Growth and behavior of Yorkshire gilts exhibiting physiological resilience to weaning stress

Abstract Weaning is an acute early-life stressor and therefore, an excellent model for examining lasting impacts of stress resilience. Our objective was to identify gilts exhibiting physiological resilience or vulnerability to weaning stress and characterize long-term impact on growth and behavior. Purebred Yorkshire litters born to multiparous sows from a single farrowing group were used. At weaning (26 ± 1 d of age), blood samples were collected from all gilt piglets of 13 litters (n = 101) at -1 d, 0 d, and +4 d pre- and post-weaning. Serum cortisol concentrations were quantified by the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. For each litter, serum cortisol was used to identify the gilt most capable of returning to baseline concentrations by +4 d as stress resilient (SR, n = 13) and the gilt least capable as stress vulnerable (SV, n = 13). Skin lesions were recorded at -1 d, +1 d, and +4 d at weaning and when gilts were mixed into grow-finish cohorts. Body weights were recorded at birth, 4 wk, 8 wk, and 12 wk and used to calculate average daily gain (ADG) for the farrowing, nursery, and early grow-finish stages. To assess behavior, focal gilts underwent a social dyad test in a novel arena at 7 wk, a handling test at 8 wk, and novel object test at 12 wk. We observed no differences in skin lesions at weaning, but at 8 wk SR gilts had significantly more rear lesions -1 d pre-mixing (P = 0.031) and middle lesions 4 d post-mixing (P = 0.049). No differences in body weight or ADG were observed at any stage. We did not observe differences between SR and SV pigs during the social dyad or handling tests. During the novel object test, SR gilts exhibited a tendency towards increased activity as demonstrated by a greater number of total zone crosses, 1 m line crosses, and 0.5 m line crosses (P = 0.062, 0.091, and 0.103, respectively). In conclusion, we found gilts resilient to weaning stress were involved in more agonistic behavior at mixing and exhibited increased activity levels in a novel situation. The absence of growth differences supports the potential to select for resilience without negatively impacting growth performance, and the observed behavioral differences could suggest implications for ease of handling and adaptability if females are retained for breeding.

PSX-17 Can Associations Between Qualitative Descriptors and Quantitative Behavioral Measures in Nursery Age Pigs Improve Interpretation of Behavioral studies?

Abstract Qualitative Behavior Assessments (QBA) are a useful way to assess animal welfare by capturing behavioral signals of emotionality not captured by quantitative measures. The objective of this study was to determine if QBA descriptors assigned to nursery age gilts during a social dyad test in a novel arena were associated with differences in quantitative behavioral measures recorded from the test such as latency to make social contact and amount of time spent in proximity. To investigate this, 30 weight-matched purebred Yorkshire gilt pairs underwent a social dyad test at 6 wk-of-age. Dyads were unfamiliar with each other, and one was assigned as the focal gilt. The test began as soon as both gilts were in the novel arena and lasted for 5 minutes. Four independent, untrained observers were asked to perform a QBA by circling all terms that they felt described the focal gilt throughout the test duration from a set list of 20 terms. Overhead video was recorded and used to collect quantitative measures including number of quadrant crosses, percentage of crosses entering an already occupied quadrant, percentage of crosses exiting an already occupied quadrant, latency of the focal pig to touch the other pig, and time spent in an occupied quadrant. For each focal gilt, only terms that were used by at least two observers were kept. To be included in the analysis a given term had to be assigned to at least 6 of the 30 focal gilts such that each group had sufficient sample size to make comparisons. This filtering resulted in 10 terms being kept for analysis including Active (22), Agitated (7), Aimless (10), Calm (15), Indifferent (8), Lively (13), Playful (9), Positively Occupied (16), Sociable (14), and Tense (8). Quantitative measures were analyzed using a t-test to determine if pigs described by each term differed from those that were not. Pigs described as Aimless, Calm, Positively Occupied, Sociable, or Tense did not significantly differ in any of the quantitative measures of behavior. Pigs described as Active, Indifferent, or Lively had significantly more quadrant crosses (P = 0.0003, 0.003, 0.022 respectively). Pigs described as Agitated had a greater proportion of crosses that were entering an occupied quadrant (P = 0.022), while those described as Playful had a significantly lower proportion of crosses that were exiting an occupied quadrant (P = 0.031). Understanding how qualitative descriptors associate with quantitative measures of behavior may assist in better interpretation of QBA results as well as confirming that a chosen metric is capturing the intended behavior.

Spatial and social distances between U.S. domestic travelers in restaurant review assessment

This study discusses the effects of spatial and social distances between U.S. domestic travelers on online review assessment. Previous studies on online review assessment have augmented the understanding of quantitative measures of review usefulness; however, researchers have seldom observed dyadic perspectives from one another and their close versus far psychological distances that generate differences in assessing reviews. This study suggests a scenario-based experiment model that measures the spatial and social distances between posters and readers in social networking spaces. Results indicated that the perceptions of readers allied with spatial and social (elite status) distances predominantly influence review assessment while the spatial closeness and elite status of posters are considered as high impact factors for long distant travelers. Male travelers have a visible decline in affective evaluations as spatial and social distances are spontaneously encountered. Importantly, travel distance and social dyads indicate a strong interactive effect on cognitive and affective evaluations.

Social complementary dyads: historical trends of evolution

Subject of research: "social complementary dyads" as a socio-psychological phenomenon. The object is social groups as socio-psychological phenomena, the subject is small social groups (microgroups) in the processes of their historical evolution.
 Methods of research: historical-theoretical, analysis of the empirical studies on social groups subjects interactions. The phenomenon of the dyad as one of the forms of social groups is discussed.
 Main results of research: a typology of dyads has been proposed: 1) complementary social dyads (SDS); 2) supporting social structures; 3) professional dyads (complex groups); 4) professional creative (creative dyads); 5) related; 6) spontaneous; 7) destructive (parasitic, exploitative); 8) antisocial. In view of the historical trends in the increase in the types of dyads and their varieties, it is believed that in the field of education the most urgent problem is the first type of dyads complementary social dyads (SDS), represented by such combinations as "educator educated", "teacher student", "teacher student, etc. Open questions are singled out (study in the paradigm of individual rather than joint activity; binarity of group classifications; unresolved issues of the lower and upper limits of the generation and functioning of groups; evolution of the subjects of the dyad, etc.); promising aspects of further research are discussed (the problem of resources, the individuality and complementarity of the qualities of interacting subjects, the possibility of directed formation and control of the evolution of dyads, etc.).

Социальные дополняющие диады и ресурсы успешности субъекта

The purpose of the article is to describe the phenomenon of “social complementary dyads”. Dyads are considered as small social groups (micro groups) being the main forms of people’s organization, of culture transfer, and of the development of special knowledge within the professional sphere; as social structures that ensure the reliability and effectiveness of human activity. The author highlighted and analysed the features of the following social complementary dyads (SCD): ‘educator – educated’, ‘teacher – school student’, ‘lecturer – university student’, ‘head – subordinate’, ‘leader – follower’, etc. It is believed that varieties of social dyads as the main forms of transmitting social experience of mankind in various professional spheres (‘doctor – patient’, ‘coach – athlete’, ‘writer – reader’, ‘consultant – customer’, etc.) have historically been increasing. The research presents problematic aspects and difficulties in studying dyads. Hypotheses: 1) the phenomenon of “social complementary dyads” (SCD) is a historically evolving social and psychological phenomenon; 2) social success of the subjects being the partners of a dyad may change in the process of their functioning; 3) purposeful development of unique and specific dyads is possible along with spontaneously developed SCD. The study proposes the typology and describes the features of different social dyads: 1) complementary social dyads (SCD); 2) supportive social formations; 3) professional complex dyads; 4) professional creative dyads; 5) related dyads; 6) spontaneous dyads; 7) destructive (parasitic, exploitative) dyads; 8) asocial dyads. The article discusses correlation between the phenomenon of a ‘dyad’ and the problem of resources (intra-subject, inter-subject and extra-subject), socio-psychological and psychological mechanisms of actualization, formation and development of resources. The author has identified a number of research issues, which have been sufficiently developed in psychology to date and reflect the key features of resources; the issues which can be considered as prototypes for development (problems of integral human individuality; cognitive resources, professional development of the subject, complementarity of qualities of the subjects of joint activity).

No genetic evidence for parent–offspring relatedness in post-breeding social groups of Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)

After the breeding season, territorial adult Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus) and residing juveniles form social groups that may persist until the following spring. Under the prolonged brood care hypothesis, one would expect these juveniles to be retained offspring with delayed dispersal of the breeding pair. To test if Black-crested Titmouse juveniles that reside in post-breeding territories are offspring of the territorial adult male, we performed microsatellite-based paternity analyses of 6 juvenile–adult male social dyads on 6 different territories. None of the juveniles were offspring of the adult male with which it shared a territory. We discuss several possible evolutionary explanations for this result.

Nighttime behavior and the length of social relationships in male Asian elephants

ABSTRACT To evaluate elephant welfare, it is important to understand their use of time both during day and night. The length of social relationships can influence how much time they spend in different activities. We assessed daytime and nighttime activity budgets of male Asian elephants at Denver Zoo and examined how length of relationships influenced nighttime behavior. Using scan sampling we investigated activity budget and proximity to a conspecific, and used General Estimating Equations to compare them across day and night and across new and established dyads at night. During daytime, elephants spent significantly more time exhibiting affiliative and agonistic behaviors, and in proximity to a conspecific, and less time resting, compared to night. Overnight, the odds of resting were significantly lower in new social dyads compared to established dyads, and new dyads spent more time exhibiting agonistic behavior and in proximity to a conspecific compared to established dyads. Our study suggests that male elephants at Denver Zoo have developed strong relationships and highlights the importance of systematically observing elephants overnight so that managers make decisions that improve animal welfare.

Loneliness and the Social Brain: How Perceived Social Isolation Impairs Human Interactions.

Loneliness is a painful condition associated with increased risk for premature mortality. The formation of new, positive social relationships can alleviate feelings of loneliness, but requires rapid trustworthiness decisions during initial encounters and it is still unclear how loneliness hinders interpersonal trust. Here, a multimodal approach including behavioral, psychophysiological, hormonal, and neuroimaging measurements is used to probe a trust‐based mechanism underlying impaired social interactions in loneliness. Pre‐stratified healthy individuals with high loneliness scores (n = 42 out of a screened sample of 3678 adults) show reduced oxytocinergic and affective responsiveness to a positive conversation, report less interpersonal trust, and prefer larger social distances compared to controls (n = 40). Moreover, lonely individuals are rated as less trustworthy compared to controls and identified by the blinded confederate better than chance. During initial trust decisions, lonely individuals exhibit attenuated limbic and striatal activation and blunted functional connectivity between the anterior insula and occipitoparietal regions, which correlates with the diminished affective responsiveness to the positive social interaction. This neural response pattern is not mediated by loneliness‐associated psychological symptoms. Thus, the results indicate compromised integration of trust‐related information as a shared neurobiological component in loneliness, yielding a reciprocally reinforced trust bias in social dyads.

Neuroanatomy and behavior in mice with a haploinsufficiency of AT-rich interactive domain 1B (ARID1B) throughout development

BackgroundOne of the causal mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is chromatin modification and the genes that regulate chromatin. AT-rich interactive domain 1B (ARID1B), a chromatin modifier, has been linked to autism spectrum disorder and to affect rare and inherited genetic variation in a broad set of NDDs.MethodsA novel preclinical mouse model of Arid1b deficiency was created and validated to characterize and define neuroanatomical, behavioral and transcriptional phenotypes. Neuroanatomy was assessed ex vivo in adult animals and in vivo longitudinally from birth to adulthood. Behavioral testing was also performed throughout development and tested all aspects of motor, learning, sociability, repetitive behaviors, seizure susceptibility, and general milestones delays.ResultsWe validated decreased Arid1b mRNA and protein in Arid1b+/− mice, with signatures of increased axonal and synaptic gene expression, decreased transcriptional regulator and RNA processing expression in adult Arid1b+/− cerebellum. During neonatal development, Arid1b+/− mice exhibited robust impairments in ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and metrics of developmental growth. In addition, a striking sex effect was observed neuroanatomically throughout development. Behaviorally, as adults, Arid1b+/− mice showed low motor skills in open field exploration and normal three-chambered approach. Arid1b+/− mice had learning and memory deficits in novel object recognition but not in visual discrimination and reversal touchscreen tasks. Social interactions in the male–female social dyad with USVs revealed social deficits on some but not all parameters. No repetitive behaviors were observed. Brains of adult Arid1b+/− mice had a smaller cerebellum and a larger hippocampus and corpus callosum. The corpus callosum increase seen here contrasts previous reports which highlight losses in corpus callosum volume in mice and humans.LimitationsThe behavior and neuroimaging analyses were done on separate cohorts of mice, which did not allow a direct correlation between the imaging and behavioral findings, and the transcriptomic analysis was exploratory, with no validation of altered expression beyond Arid1b.ConclusionsThis study represents a full validation and investigation of a novel model of Arid1b+/− haploinsufficiency throughout development and highlights the importance of examining both sexes throughout development in NDDs.

Digitized Autism Observation Diagnostic Schedule: Social Interactions beyond the Limits of the Naked Eye.

The complexity and non-linear dynamics of socio-motor phenomena underlying social interactions are often missed by observation methods that attempt to capture, describe, and rate the exchange in real time. Unknowingly to the rater, socio-motor behaviors of a dyad exert mutual influence over each other through subliminal mirroring and shared cohesiveness that escape the naked eye. Implicit in these ratings nonetheless is the assumption that the other participant of the social dyad has an identical nervous system as that of the interlocutor, and that sensory-motor information is processed similarly by both agents’ brains. What happens when this is not the case? We here use the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to formally study social dyadic interactions, at the macro- and micro-level of behaviors, by combining observation with digital data from wearables. We find that integrating subjective and objective data reveals fundamentally new ways to improve standard clinical tools, even to differentiate females from males using the digital version of the test. More generally, this work offers a way to turn a traditional, gold-standard clinical instrument into an objective outcome measure of human social behaviors and treatment effectiveness.

No evidence for a relationship between social closeness and similarity in resting-state functional brain connectivity in schoolchildren

Previous research suggests that the proximity of individuals in a social network predicts how similarly their brains respond to naturalistic stimuli. However, the relationship between social connectedness and brain connectivity in the absence of external stimuli has not been examined. To investigate whether neural homophily between friends exists at rest we collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 68 school-aged girls, along with social network information from all pupils in their year groups (total 5,066 social dyads). Participants were asked to rate the amount of time they voluntarily spent with each person in their year group, and directed social network matrices and community structure were then determined from these data. No statistically significant relationships between social distance, community homogeneity and similarity of global-level resting-state connectivity were observed. Nor were we able to predict social distance using a regularised regression technique (i.e. elastic net regression based on the local-level similarities in resting-state whole-brain connectivity between participants). Although neural homophily between friends exists when viewing naturalistic stimuli, this finding did not extend to functional connectivity at rest in our population. Instead, resting-state connectivity may be less susceptible to the influences of a person's social environment.

Biographical dimension of terminal illness or is there an alternative to medicine?

The article analyzes the biographical case of cancer with problematized attitude to traditional medicine. The author examines the biographical choices of the informant and the problem of not following the medicalist treatment strategy. Optics using analytic methods and social theory, the author seeks to show that living biographer’s disease and agree with the diagnosis of a life inextricably linked with the social relations within which these terms aventureuse, namely in the framework of relations “doctor-patient”. The analysis of this social dyad using the methods of anthropology and narratology brings us closer to the understanding of disease as a phenomenon mediated by the cultural codes of society, the dominant model of which is the biomedical paradigm of studying the “diseased body”.

Wisdom of the social versus non-social crowd in face identification.

Face identification is more accurate when people collaborate in social dyads than when they work alone (Dowsett & Burton, 2015, Br. J. Psychol., 106, 433). Identification accuracy is also increased when the responses of two people are averaged for each item to create a 'non-social' dyad (White, Burton, Kemp, & Jenkins, 2013, Appl. Cogn. Psychol., 27, 769; White etal., 2015, Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci., 282, 20151292). Does social collaboration add to the benefits of response averaging for face identification? We compared individuals, social dyads, and non-social dyads on an unfamiliar face identity-matching test. We also simulated non-social collaborations for larger groups of people. Individuals and social dyads judged whether face image pairs depicted the same- or different identities, responding on a 5-point certainty scale. Non-social dyads were constructed by averaging the responses of paired individuals. Both social and non-social dyads were more accurate than individuals. There was no advantage for social over non-social dyads. For larger non-social groups, performance peaked at near perfection with a crowd size of eight participants. We tested three computational models of social collaboration and found that social dyad performance was predicted by the decision of the more accurate partner. We conclude that social interaction does not bolster accuracy for unfamiliar face identity matching in dyads beyond what can be achieved by averaging judgements.

Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The laboratory rat is emerging as an attractive preclinical animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), allowing investigators to explore genetic, environmental and pharmacological manipulations in a species exhibiting complex, reciprocal social behavior. The present study was carried out to compare two commonly used strains of laboratory rats, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long-Evans (LE), between the ages of postnatal day (PND) 26–56 using high-throughput behavioral phenotyping tools commonly used in mouse models of ASD that we have adapted for use in rats. We detected few differences between young SD and LE strains on standard assays of exploration, sensorimotor gating, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, and learning. Both SD and LE strains also demonstrated sociability in the 3-chamber social approach test as indexed by spending more time in the social chamber with a constrained age/strain/sex matched novel partner than in an identical chamber without a partner. Pronounced differences between the two strains were, however, detected when the rats were allowed to freely interact with a novel partner in the social dyad paradigm. The SD rats in this particular testing paradigm engaged in play more frequently and for longer durations than the LE rats at both juvenile and young adult developmental time points. Results from this study that are particularly relevant for developing preclinical ASD models in rats are threefold: (i) commonly utilized strains exhibit unique patterns of social interactions, including strain-specific play behaviors, (ii) the testing environment may profoundly influence the expression of strain-specific social behavior and (iii) simple, automated measures of sociability may not capture the complexities of rat social interactions.

Humanity and Paternal Eros: The Father-Son Relationship in Comparative Perspective

This paper examines the human relational patterns presented in the philosophical writings of the Confucian thinker Dai Zhen (戴震1724–77) and the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s (1906–95) Totality and Infinity to uncover the ethical significance of the father-son relationship. I argue that for both thinkers the father-son relation is not just one type of human relationship among other social dyads, but rather, of greater significance, serves as the paradigmatic model of the ethical human relationship in bringing to light the idea of the ethical self as a responsible being in relation to others.

Cocaine self-administration in social dyads using custom-built operant conditioning chambers.

Traditionally, the analysis of intravenous drug self-administration is limited to conditions in which subjects are tested in isolation. This limits the translational appeal of these studies because drug use in humans often occurs in the presence of others. We used custom-built operant conditioning chambers that allowed social dyads visual, olfactory, auditory, and limited tactile contact while concurrently self-administering cocaine. Male rats were trained to respond according to a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement (with a limited hold) in order to determine if patterns of cocaine (0.75mg/kg/infusion) self-administration became more similar over time in social pairs. Cocaine self-administration was tested across five days according to a 10-min fixed interval schedule (with a 5-min limited hold). Quarter-life values (time at which 25% of responses were emitted per interval) were analyzed using intraclass correlations. The total number of reinforcers obtained did not vary across the five days of testing; however, quarter-life values became progressively more similar between individuals within the social dyads. Standard operant conditioning chambers are unable to assess responding in multiple animals due to their small size, the need to prevent subjects from responding on the lever of their partner, and the need to prevent infusion lines from entangling. By using custom-built social operant conditioning chambers, we assessed the effects of social contact on cocaine self-administration. Social operant conditioning chambers can be used as a preclinical method to examine social influences on drug self-administration under conditions that approximate human substance use.

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an FE/HE Partnership in the Delivery of a Preparation for Practice Module within an Undergraduate Social Work Degree Programme

The Preparation for Practice module at the University of Ulster is delivered to 170 first year students via a collaborative arrangement between higher and further education institutions. In each of the five sites, students receive large group and small group teaching facilitated by social work training agency workers and academic tutor dyads. An evaluation of the module sought the perceptions of the agency and academic facilitators regarding the overall collaborative arrangement and the model of co-teaching involving social work academics and agency partners. Respondents were asked to complete a semi-structured questionnaire, which generated data from a Likert scale and also invited qualitative commentary. The Likert scale data were analysed via SPSS and the qualitative information was scrutinised using a manual thematic analysis technique. Findings indicated that continuous communication, consistency in programme content and the acknowledgement of the differences in organisation resources were key to a successful collaborative arrangement. It was also noted that a co-teaching model should be viewed as a positive vehicle for achieving module objectives in a safe learning environment.

Influence of prenatal iron deficiency and MAOA genotype on response to social challenge in rhesus monkey infants

Social and emotional behaviors are known to be sensitive to both developmental iron deficiency (ID) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene polymorphisms. In this study, male rhesus monkey infants deprived of dietary iron in utero were compared with iron sufficient (IS) controls (n = 10/group). Half of each group had low MAOA activity genotypes and half had high MAOA activity genotypes. A series of social response tests were conducted at 3-14 months of age. MAOA genotype influenced attention to a video of aggressive behavior, emotional expression (fear, grimace and sniff) in the social intruder test, social actions (displacement, grooming) in the social dyad test, and aggressive responses to a threatening picture. Interactions between MAOA and prenatal ID were seen in response to the aggressive video, in temperament ratings, in affiliative behavior in the social dyad test, in cortisol response in the social buffering test and in response to a social intruder and to pictures with social and nonsocial themes. In general, the effects of ID were dependent on MAOA genotype in terms of both direction and size of the effect. Nutrition/genotype interactions may shed new light on behavioral consequences of nutritional deprivation during brain development.

Noninvasive assessment of specific strain in dogs

by the animal companion and the temporal patterning of dyadic interactions (as revealed by THEME software) were contingent on the sex and personalities, mainly of the human partners, as well as on owner attitude and attachment style. We conclude that human–animal dyads also show core features characteristic of same-species social dyads and therefore, may be valuable models for investigating higher vertebrate dyadic relationships, including human–human relationships. We acknowledge funding by IEMT Austria.