Social Interaction Research Articles

Sex-Dependent Synergism of an Edible THC: CBD Formulation in Reducing Anxiety and Depressive-like Symptoms Following Chronic Stress.

Cannabis has shown therapeutic potential in mood and anxiety-related pathologies. However, the two primary constituents of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produce distinct effects on molecular pathways in neural circuits associated with affective disorders. Moreover, it has been proposed that the combination of THC: and CBD may have unique synergistic properties. In the present study, the effects of a 1:100 THC: CBD ratio edible formulation were tested in behavioural, neuronal and molecular assays for anxiety and depressive-like endophenotypes. Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were stressed for 14 days. Then, for three weeks, open field, elevated plus maze, light/dark box, social interaction, sucrose preference, and the forced swim test were performed 90 minutes after acute consumption of CBD (30 mg/kg), THC (0.3 mg/kg), or 1:100 combination of THC:CBD. After behavioural tests, in vivo, neuronal electrophysiological analyses were performed in the ventral tegmental area and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, western-blot experiments examined the expression of biomarkers associated with mood and anxiety disorders, including protein kinase B (Akt), glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), BDNF, mTOR, D1, and D2 receptor in nucleus accumbens (NAc) and PFC.Edible THC:CBD produces significant anxiolytic and antidepressant effects only in stressed male rats. In most cases, the combination of THC and CBD had stronger effects than either phytochemical alone. These synergistic effects are associated with alterations in Akt/GSK3 and D2-R expression in NAc and BDNF expression in PFC. Furthermore, THC:CBD reverses chronic stress-induced alterations in PFC neuronal activity. These findings demonstrate a novel synergistic potential for THC:CBD edible formulations in stress-related pathologies.

Understanding Social Interaction and Physiological Patterns in Nonlean and Last Planner System–Based Project Teams: A Comparative Study Using Immersive Virtual Reality

Understanding Social Interaction and Physiological Patterns in Nonlean and Last Planner System–Based Project Teams: A Comparative Study Using Immersive Virtual Reality

Effects of essential caregiver policies on COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

Federal authorities banned nursing home visitation in the early days of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, there was growing concern that physical isolation may have unintended harms on nursing home residents. Thus, nursing homes and policymakers faced a tradeoff between minimizing COVID-19 outbreaks and limiting the unintended harms. Between June 2020 and January 2021, 17 states implemented Essential Caregiver policies (ECPs) allowing nursing home visitation by designated family members or friends under controlled circumstances. Using the Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File and other relevant data, we analyze the effects of ECPs on deaths among nursing home residents. We exploit variation in the existence of ECPs across states and over time, finding that these policies effectively reduce both non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 deaths, resulting in a decrease in total deaths. These effects are larger for states that implemented policies mandatorily or without restrictions, indicating a dose-response relationship. These policies reduce non-COVID-19 deaths in facilities with higher quality or staffing levels, while reducing COVID-19 deaths in facilities with lower quality or staffing levels. Our findings support the use and expansion of ECPs to balance resident safety and the need for social interaction and informal care during future pandemics.

Understanding the Relationship Between Attachment Orientation and Physical Activity Participation: An Exploratory Study.

Physical inactivity is recognized as a global health challenge. Attachment theory may provide insight into individual physical activity (PA) patterns, informing the development of PA interventions to promote the maintenance of behavior change. This study investigated the associations between attachment orientation and why and how individuals engage in PA. Given the association between attachment and sensory processing, this study also investigated the link between sensory processing and PA participation. Participants (N = 141) completed an online questionnaire that included the Modified Experiences of Close Relationships Scale and the Highly Sensitive Person Scale. The relationship between attachment orientation and sensory processing patterns, and preference for PA participation were analyzed using 2-sided independent t tests. Attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and sensory sensitivity were significantly related to participants' preference for PA participation in theoretically consistent ways. Avoidantly attached individuals were less likely to participate in PA as a form of social interaction (mean = 8.57, SD = 2.87, P = .005, d = 0.48). Anxiously attached individuals were more likely to participate in PA to support weight management (mean = 37.02, SD = 11.54, P = .01, d = -0.46) or if recommended by a health professional (mean = 43.55, SD = 12.45, P = .039, d = -0.88). Sensory sensitive individuals were more likely to participate in PA alone (mean = 124.11, SD = 19.23, P = .005, d = -0.510), and more likely to prefer light-intensity forms of PA (mean = 133.29, SD = 12.67, F3,123 = 5.49, P = .001). Findings highlight the potential value of considering an individual's attachment orientation and sensory processing patterns in the development of PA interventions. This may help to address the challenges of PA participation, by individually tailoring interventions to participants.

Construction, evidence of validity and reliability of a Teacher Socioemotional Competencies Scale - ECSED

Social-emotional competencies are complex actions that include skills, knowledge and attitudes to maintain effective and satisfactory social interactions. As well as, managing one's own and other people's emotions in different environments. They are vital for healthy coexistence in higher education. The purpose of this research was to establish the evidence of validity and reliability for the scale of socioemotional competencies of university teachers. Scale constructed under the pentagonal model approach of Bizquerra and Pérez (2007). The study is cross-sectional and instrumental. A non-probabilistic convenience sample of 237 teachers from public and private universities in Lima (Peru), from different professional careers, aged between 24 and 70 years, male and female, was used. Satisfactory evidence of content-based validity was found for the criteria of clarity, pertinence, and relevance for each of the items using Aiken's V technique. For validity based on the internal structure of the construct, a Penta dimensional model and a bi-factor model were contrasted by confirmatory factor analysis, with better fit values for the second model (CFI and TLI > 0.95, RMSEA and SRMR < 0.07, = ω h = 0.90, ECV and PUC > 0.95), and favorable evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was also found. For both the overall score and the scores for each factor, there were coefficients denoting high reliability (ordinal α and ω > 0.90).

"My Best Friend's Husband Sees and Knows Everything": A Cross-Contextual and Cross-Country Approach to Understanding Smart Home Privacy

As smart home devices proliferate, protecting the privacy of those who encounter the devices is of the utmost importance both within their own home and in other people's homes. In this study, we conducted a large-scale survey (N=1459) with primary users of and bystanders to smart home devices. While previous work has studied people's privacy experiences and preferences either as smart home primary users or as bystanders, there is a need for a deeper understanding of privacy experiences and preferences in different contexts and across different countries. Instead of classifying people as either primary users or bystanders, we surveyed the same participants across different contexts. We deployed our survey in four countries (Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and in two languages (English and Spanish). We found that participants were generally more concerned about devices in their own homes, but perceived video cameras—especially unknown ones—and usability as more concerning in other people's homes. Compared to male participants, female and non-binary participants had less control over configuration of devices and privacy settings—regardless of whether they were the most frequent user. Comparing countries, participants in Mexico were more likely to be comfortable with devices, but also more likely to take privacy precautions around them. We also make cross-contextual recommendations for device designers and policymakers, such as nudges to facilitate social interactions.

A Conversational Analysis of Hausa Business and Social Interaction

A Conversational Analysis of Hausa Business and Social Interaction

Examining the Influence of Gadget Usage on Children's Social Interactions

Examining the Influence of Gadget Usage on Children's Social Interactions

Intervention Programs Focusing on Social Cognition in Schizophrenia

Social cognitive functions make it possible to correctly recognize and interpret the emotions and mental states of others in the social environment, to understand their intentions correctly and to react accordingly. Therefore, these functions arecritical for healthy social interactions and professional success in human life. Social cognitive functions are impaired in many psychiatric and neurological diseases and this impairment negatively affects almost all areas of patients' lives, albeit in different dimensions. According to research findings revealing the relationship between social cognition and social functioning, social cognition should be one of the treatment targets for many diseases. Recently, there has been increasing interest in interventions that target the improvement of these functions. In this article, these training programs, research findings and assessment tools used in these studies are discussed in the specific case of schizophrenia.

Exploring the role of orexins in the modulation of social reward

Abstract Rationale positive social interactions are essential for mental health, by offering emotional support, reducing stress levels, and promoting resilience against drugs of abuse effects. However, not all individuals perceive social interaction as rewarding. Objectives the goal of this study was to investigate whether the modulation of the orexin system can shift passive coping and non-social behavior (vulnerable) to active coping and social behavior (resilient). This knowledge is primordial for stress- and addiction-related disorders, and for other psychiatric disorders involving impairment in social interaction. Methods male C57/BL6N mice categorized into social and non-social groups, received injections of SB334867, a selective orexin 1 receptor (OX1R) antagonist, before the conditioning sessions with a male conspecific of the same weight and age. Results our results from the conditioned place preference test (CPP) show that SB334867 has no effect on social preference in non-social mice, but it reduces their stress levels and depression-like behavior. These effects appear to be due to a higher OX1R expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a stress-related brain area, of non-social mice compared to their social counterparts. Conclusions these data suggest that the orexin system may be a target to alleviate stress and depression-like behavior in non-social individuals rather than to promote social reward.

Group dynamics and therapy outcome of multimodal pain therapies: A prospective observational trial

AbstractBackgroundFor the treatment of chronic pain, interdisciplinary treatment programs are recommended. Despite continuous adaptation and optimization of this cost‐ and time‐intensive and comprehensive form of therapy, it is not successful in some patients. As personality disorders have an important influence on social interaction and behaviour, the aim of our study was to identify the possible impact of patients with personality disorders on group dynamics and to analyse the influence of group dynamics on individual therapy outcomes.MethodsWe conducted a prospective observational study in patients with chronic pain (N = 104) who participated in a 5‐week interdisciplinary treatment program. The main outcome parameters were psychological state and pain intensity before and after the program.ResultsIn contrast to our clinical assumption, we found that neither the type nor the number of patients with personality accentuation or personality disorders had a clinically relevant influence on group dynamics and that even a negative group dynamic did not negatively influence the individual therapy outcome.DiscussionThis trial analysed the connection between group dynamics and therapy outcome of multimodal pain therapies in chronic pain patients considering the factor of personality disorders. Our data demonstrated that neither the type nor the number of patients with personality disorders had a clinically relevant influence on group dynamics and that even a negative group dynamic did not negatively influence the individual therapy outcome. Hence, clinicians should not be afraid to include patients with personality disorders in their treatment programs.Significance StatementThe study emphasizes that clinicians may include patients with personality disorders in multimodal pain treatment programs and groups, provided that the maintenance of a close therapeutic bond with the patient and within the interdisciplinary team is given.

Analisis Pengaruh Media Sosial X Terhadap Sikap dan Perilaku Remaja Menggunakan K-Means Clustering

This research aims to analyze the influence of social media X on adolescent attitudes and behavior using the K-means clustering method. Social media has an important role in everyday life, especially among teenagers, who are vulnerable to external influences in shaping their attitudes and behavior. In this study, data was collected through a survey covering aspects such as frequency of use, type of content consumed, and social interactions on the platform. The K-means clustering method is used to group teenagers based on their patterns of social media use and the characteristics of their attitudes and behavior. The results of the analysis show that there are several clusters that indicate a significant relationship between the intensity of use of social media X and changes in teenagers' attitudes and behavior. These findings provide valuable insights for parents, educators, and policy makers in understanding the impact of social media on adolescent development and formulating strategies to mitigate its negative effects.

Not Everyone Will Be Taken into the Future? The Role of Forecasting in International Relations Theory

The 2010s witnessed intensified debates in international academia on the relationship between theory and forecast, but Russian scholarship remained detached from these discussions. This article intends to examine the contribution of theory to forecasting in IR, identifying prospects for combining the prescriptive, explanatory, interpretive and predictive functions of science. It reveals the origins of both theoretical skepticism about prediction and the countercriticism of futile theorizing. The article reveals the limitations of both the hypothetico-deductive model of scholarship, which dominates the discipline, and the statistical inductivism that opposes it. The analysis begins by identifying the different classes of theories in international relations studies. It demonstrates that the basic assumptions of normative, deconstructive, and interpretive theorizing are poorly compatible with prediction. The article further scrutinizes the ambivalent attitude of explanatory theories towards the matter, claiming the fundamental unpredictability of social interactions. It explores the growth in expectations since the late 2000s that the accumulation of big data and the advancement of methods for processing them will provide predictions without relying on explanatory inferences. Nevertheless, the value of scholarship for foreign policy practice requires a combination of theoretical explanations and predictive studies. This article suggests that for theory to play a major role in forecasting, forecasts must play a major role in theorizing. In this sense, reluctance to test their logical inferences with predictions exemplified by scholars poses a barrier to the development of IR studies.

ICT IN EDUCATION AND THE USE OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

In human societies, the desire to adapt the environment to their needs has resulted in technological inventions that have gradually changed the ways of living, social interaction and the ways of producing work, and more recently, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). With ICT being used as a form of social and everyday interaction and replacing textbooks, a new way of connecting to knowledge and a new student profile has emerged. At the same time, the context of the digital society itself requires the development of skills that enable the critical and creative use of ICT, which is essential for entering the job market and for everyday life itself. Given the increased use of technologies, the idea has emerged that aligns the use of ICT with an educational environment that prepares students for this new reality. As a result, there has been not only the insertion of digital technologies into pedagogical practice, but also artificial intelligence and virtual learning environments, inserting technologies into an educational context called Education 4.0. In this context, the aim of this article is to investigate the possibilities and advantages of using digital technologies as a teaching resource in terms of developing skills and competencies inherent to creation, the critical and creative use of technologies and, more specifically, the use of virtual learning environments in the context of face-to-face teaching in basic education.

Directional switching behavior of swarming systems with social and nonlinear interactions

Coordinated directional switching can occur among members of many mobile biological communities. Some studies show that self-propelled particle models can describe the directional switching behavior well. The key to understanding group movement is to determine the influential factors relevant to directional switching behavior. This paper focuses on the impact of social and nonlinear interactions on the directional switching behavior observed in swarming systems. In which, the nonlinear interaction is represented as a function of a trade-off between the velocity and velocity direction of its neighbors. Based on the framework of dimension reduction theory, the high-dimensional complex model is simplified into a one-dimensional simple model, and the stationary probability density and mean switching time are obtained by theoretical analysis of the one-dimensional model. It can be seen that social and nonlinear interactions play an important role in regulating the directional switching behaviors of swarming systems. Specifically, the increase of group density and nonlinear parameter can inhibit the directional switches. For Erdös-Rényi networks, the large mean degree can suppress the directional switching behavior. For scale-free networks, increasing the degree heterogeneity can reduce the mean switching time. The results reveal the underlying mechanisms by which social and nonlinear interactions influence the directional switching behaviors of swarming systems, and provide a theoretical foundation for the design of bio-inspired devices with specific functions.

The Behavioral Responses of Geoffroy’s Spider Monkeys to Drone Flights

Drones are increasingly used for monitoring wildlife, and it is therefore necessary to evaluate their impact on animal behavior. According to the landscape of fear framework, animals assess and respond to perceived risks in their environment by adjusting their behavior and space use to avoid potential threats. Understanding how drones influence risk perception is thus crucial to avoid generating stress and altering the animal’s natural behavior. Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are endangered arboreal primates, but information on their distribution and abundance is scarce throughout their geographical distribution. Drones can aid to rapidly obtain such information, but data of their impact on the monkeys are needed to design surveys that minimize disturbance (i.e., any interference or modification of the natural behavior of the monkeys caused by the presence and operation of drones). Here, we evaluated whether drone flights influenced the following spider monkey behaviors: agonistic displays, self-scratching, whinny vocalizations, feeding, resting, social interactions, and moving. We also evaluated the effect of three flight parameters, flight height (35, 50 m above ground level), speed (2, 4 m/s), and distance to the drone (“close”, “medium”, and “far”) on spider monkey behavior and examined whether repeated exposure to drones resulted in tolerance (i.e., lack of a behavioral response). We found that drone flights influenced only agonistic displays and resting and that the only flight parameter affecting behaviors was the distance between the monkeys and the drone. We found that spider monkeys developed a tolerance to drone flights only for agonistic displays. Based on our results, we suggest that spider monkeys do not perceive drone flights as major sources of disturbance (such as predators) in the short term, and that drone monitoring can be a viable option to study this species if adequate flight protocols are implemented.

Multiple complex developmental disorder (MCDD): Did we throw the baby out with the bathwater too fast? A systematic review

Background Multiple complex developmental disorder (MCDD) manifests as early-onset impairment across different domains. Although it could appear as a transitional condition between autism and childhood-onset schizophrenia, interest in MCDD has progressively waned. This study attempts to discern MCDD current relevance to avoid “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” too fast. Methods All available studies published up to January 2024 were retrieved and evaluated following on the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews using the term “multiple complex developmental disorder” or “MCDD”, without any filter for study design nor year of publication. Results Only 16 studies were included and analyzed. Overall, a variable heterogeneity was observed in terms of country of investigation, study design, and clinical groups. Most of the included studies explored the construct of MCDD in developmental age, comparing MCDD mostly with autistic patients, and observing how the former group had higher levels of paranoia, illusions, and psychotic thoughts, whereas the latter showed more frequently difficulties in social interactions and stereotypical behaviors. Conclusion Overall, these results showed how progressive changes in diagnostic criteria over time led MCDD to be abandoned as nosographic construct, leaving perhaps a diagnostic void between autism and psychotic disorders that needs to be further studied. A systematic review on the Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder (MCDD): a forgotten diagnosis between autism and schizophrenia.

Exploring children’s travel well-being through drawings

ABSTRACT Research on the impact of travel on child well-being has been scarce. This study explores children’s travel preferences by analysing their drawings, revealing factors that enhance their well-being and engagement. We analysed 214 drawings from girls aged 8 to 11 from three schools in Tehran, Iran. The drawings illustrated playful activities, nature-based experiences, and cultural explorations with family and peers. Using visual content analysis, the findings suggest that children value interactive, educational travel experiences, enhancing their happiness and developmental growth. The research highlights the importance of considering children’s perspectives in tourism planning and emphasizes family, social interactions, and environmental engagement in contributing to children’s well-being. It also addresses the methodological limitations and cultural influences on their travel preferences.

EAV: EEG-Audio-Video Dataset for Emotion Recognition in Conversational Contexts

Understanding emotional states is pivotal for the development of next-generation human-machine interfaces. Human behaviors in social interactions have resulted in psycho-physiological processes influenced by perceptual inputs. Therefore, efforts to comprehend brain functions and human behavior could potentially catalyze the development of AI models with human-like attributes. In this study, we introduce a multimodal emotion dataset comprising data from 30-channel electroencephalography (EEG), audio, and video recordings from 42 participants. Each participant engaged in a cue-based conversation scenario, eliciting five distinct emotions: neutral, anger, happiness, sadness, and calmness. Throughout the experiment, each participant contributed 200 interactions, which encompassed both listening and speaking. This resulted in a cumulative total of 8,400 interactions across all participants. We evaluated the baseline performance of emotion recognition for each modality using established deep neural network (DNN) methods. The Emotion in EEG-Audio-Visual (EAV) dataset represents the first public dataset to incorporate three primary modalities for emotion recognition within a conversational context. We anticipate that this dataset will make significant contributions to the modeling of the human emotional process, encompassing both fundamental neuroscience and machine learning viewpoints.

Self-Presentational Communication in Context Digital Realities of Modern Society

Introduction. In the age of the digital economy and hyper-competition, self-presentation communication as a type of self-promotion, as the ability to present oneself to a communication partner, employer, business partner or target audience, is considered by experts as a key skill of the 21st century. It is also considered as one of the significant factors of competition both in the modern highly competitive labor market and in the consumer market, both global and local. The article discusses the theoretical foundations of self-presentational communication in its historical retrospective, traditions, innovations and development trends in the conditions of new realities.Methodology and sources. The methodology of philosophical, sociological and interdisciplinary approaches is used. The article uses the following sources: specialized literature from domestic and foreign authors, scientific research, publications and websites that allow one to explore the specifics of digital self-presentation, its new formats and current practices.Results and discussion. Digital society is a society whose distinctive feature is the electronic-digital method of receiving, storing and distributing information, as well as the electronic-digital mediation of social relations and communicative interaction. One of the ways of such interaction is digital self-presentation, which combines the traditions of this content and innovations caused by the development of new technologies.Conclusion. Self-presentational communication, like the entire communicative component of modern society, including the «human-AI» interface, is carried out in three spatial dimensions: real/offline/Physics, virtual/online/Digital, as well as in their interaction offline online/Phygital. In each dimension, self-presentational communication has its own specifics and could can be considered both as a separate phenomenon and in the process of continuity and development.