Solicitation Behaviors Research Articles

Solicitation Behavior and Corruption Crimes:

Solicitation Behavior and Corruption Crimes:

Lasting benefits of embryonic eavesdropping on parent-parent communication.

Developing embryos have traditionally been viewed as passive agents in the evolution of family conflicts, with maternal substances within the uterus or eggs as main factors modulating later expression of offspring solicitation behaviors. Yet, parent-offspring conflict theory predicts that offspring might also rely on alternative cues to adjust demand in response to prenatal cues of parental capacity for resource provisioning. Here, we show how embryonic experience with vocalizations carried out by parents during nest-relief displays at incubation adaptively shapes avian offspring development, providing lasting benefits to offspring. Genetic siblings prenatally exposed to different levels of parent-parent communication showed differences in epigenetic patterns, adrenocortical responsiveness, development, and food solicitation behavior. The correspondence between prenatal acoustic experience and parental context positively influenced the nutritional status and growth rate of offspring reared by communicative parents. Offspring can thus retain strong control over their own development by gathering prenatal acoustic information about parental generosity.

Same-sex and immature sexual behaviour repertoire in a wild group of robust capuchin monkeys

Abstract In primates, same-sex and immature sexual behaviour is widespread and can include mounting and genital presentation. These patterns can be observed in multiple social contexts and across all ages, and can serve functions such as appeasement, reconciliation, practice and dominance assertion. In this study, we investigated same-sex and immature sexual behaviour in a group of robust capuchins (Sapajus nigritus) living in an Atlantic forest fragment and urban areas. We predicted that in order to practice sex, sexual behaviour in same-sex dyads and/or dyads that included immatures would resemble the adult heterosexual repertoire for solicitation through courtship displays, mounts and post-copulatory display. We also predicted that immature individuals would engage more frequently than adults in sexual interactions, in order to practice sex. We conducted all-occurrence observations of sexual behaviour in the study group (28 individuals: four adult males, one sub-adult male, eight adult females, eight juveniles and seven infants) from September 2016 to August 2017. Sexual interactions that included at least one immature individual in the dyad and/or occurred between individuals of the same sex were infrequent (N = 52, 0.13 interactions/hour), but much more frequent than heterosexual sexual interactions between adults in the group (N = 4, 0.01 interactions/hour). The same-sex and immature sexual repertoire resembled the described heterosexual patterns for the same species from the literature. Individuals displayed solicitation behaviours in “one-way courtship”, usually followed by a two-way courtship and then mounts, but post-copulatory behaviour was never observed. Except for the alpha male, all age-sex classes engaged in sexual interactions in same-sex dyads or in dyads that included immature individuals. We found no difference in frequency of participation across age classes, however, male-male dyads engaged more frequently in sexual interactions and may be practicing sex and courtship behaviours. Mounts are unlikely to be a form of dominance assertion as the alpha male did not participate, subordinate adult males did not engage in mounts with other subordinate adult males, juveniles mounted adult males and vice versa, and there were mount switches (taking turns as mounter and mountee) regardless of the initial mounter’s age. Contrary to the post-conflict context observed in Cebus, most mounts in this study were preceded by play. Combining our study with additional evidence for the genus, same-sex mounts and mounts that include immatures seem to occur most commonly in affiliative contexts within Sapajus. Sexual behaviour functions in Sapajus require additional investigation, especially among adult males and juveniles of both sexes.

Circulating Hormones and Dominance Status Predict Female Behavior during Courtship in a Lekking Species.

Female competitive behaviors during courtship can have substantial fitness consequences, yet we know little about the physiological and social mechanisms underlying these behaviors-particularly for females of polygynous lek mating species. We explored the hormonal and social drivers of female intersexual and intrasexual behavior during courtship by males in a captive population of Indian peafowl. We investigated whether (1) female non-stress induced circulating estradiol (E2) and corticosterone (CORT) levels or (2) female dominance status in a dyad predicts female solicitation behavior. We also tested whether female circulating E2 and CORT predict dominant females' aggressive behaviors toward subordinate females in the courtship context. Our findings demonstrate that females with higher levels of circulating E2 as well as higher levels of circulating CORT solicit more courtships from males. Dominant females also solicit more courtships from males than subordinate females. Female intrasexual aggressive behaviors during courtship, however, were not associated with circulating levels of E2 or CORT. Overall, we conclude that circulating steroid hormones in conjunction with social dominance might play a role in mediating female behaviors associated with competition for mates. Experimental manipulation and measures of hormonal flexibility throughout the breeding season in relation to competitive and sexual behaviors will be necessary to further examine the link between hormonal mechanisms and female behavior in polygynous lekking systems.

Play: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Play is an important part of cats’ wellbeing, and in a multi-cat household it can provide exercise and enhance social bonds. Cat guardians should be able to recognize when play is healthy and when it is showing signs of turning into non-play aggression so that they can take steps to redirect before harm is done. This article explains some play solicitation behaviors in kittens and adult cats and illustrates with video how to distinguish sociable play, aggressive behavior that might be mistaken for play, and behaviors that are intended as play but are potentially dangerous because of a mismatch in individual play style.

Sexual Behavior is Enhanced by Regular, Repeated Mating from Young Adulthood to Middle Age in Female Long-Evans Rats.

Aging is associated neuroendocrine changes in women. Animals can be used to model these changes, as well as changes in reproductive behavior. The current study was designed to characterize mating behavior across age and assess the effects of age and sexual history on mating behavior. Sexual motivation was assessed using the partner-preference test, in which a female rat is given the choice to interact with a same-sex conspecific or a sexually-vigorous male rat, with which she can mate. Across repeated mating tests (2-12 months of age), female rats spent more time with the male, displayed more solicitation behaviors, were less likely to leave the male after mounts, but visited both stimulus animals less frequently. Comparing a separate group of age-matched, hormoneyoked female rats mated for the first time at 12 months of age to female rats mated for the first time at 2 months of age showed that the 12 month rats visited both stimulus animals less, were less likely to leave the male after mounts, took longer to return to the male after mounts, and displayed fewer solicitation behaviors than their younger counterparts. Relative to middle-aged female rats once they were sexually experienced, 12 month naïve rats spent less time with the male, were more likely to leave the male after mounts, and displayed fewer solicitation behaviors. Furthermore, 12 month naïve rats failed to discriminate between the stimulus animals, visiting both stimulus animals at the same rate unlike 2 month naïve or 12 month experienced rats. Taken together, these results suggest that aging affects some measures of sexual behavior, but most effects of age can be mitigated by regular, repeated mating.

"What a Girl Wants": What Can We Learn From Animal Models of Female Sexual Motivation?

Sexual motivation is notably different than other motivations such as hunger and thirst, because it lacks homeostatic drive. Sexual motivation poses no threat to physical well-being; individual survival is not at stake. Nevertheless, sexual motivation is a powerful drive and is critical for species survival. Understanding the complexity of sexual motivation has the potential to advance our understanding of other motivations, even pathological motivations, such as those associated with substance abuse. The study of motivation that is unique to females has often been neglected. A number of paradigms have been developed to investigate female sexual motivation beyond measuring only the lordosis reflex. Lordosis is a reflexive posture displayed by female mammals in response to male sexual stimulation to facilitate intromission. The lordosis reflex is essential, but studying the drive to mate is compromised in the absence of robust lordosis. Therefore, appetitive measures of sexual behavior (e.g., preferences, solicitation behaviors) are more specific and more sensitive indicators of sexual motivation than lordosis alone. Paradigms designed to study female sexual motivation often provide a female subject with the choice to interact with a sexually vigorous male or either a non-sexual partner (i.e., female, castrated male) or to remain alone. The study of appetitive measures of sexual motivation has elucidated the role of hormones in female sexual motivation, as well as the underlying neural pathways. The present review describes methods for studying female rats to advance our understanding of sexual motivation and sexual dysfunction.

Non-mimetic shiny cowbird nestlings escape discrimination by baywings in absence of host nest mates

Nestlings of obligate brood parasites must obtain resources from heterospecific hosts that are attuned to the solicitation behaviours of their own progeny. Failing to match the appropriate stimuli may result in suboptimal provisioning or even the starvation of parasite young. Parasitic nestlings could overcome it by sharing the nest with host young, as long as they are able to compete efficiently for parental feedings. Here, we examined if non-mimetic shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) nestlings reared alone fail to elicit sufficient parental care from the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a host that discriminates between their own and parasitic nestlings based on species-specific begging cues. We manipulated baywing broods to assess the ability of shiny cowbird nestlings to elicit parental provisioning and survive without host nest mates. Host provisioning rates and survival did not differ between shiny cowbirds reared alone and host nestlings in singleton broods. Also, growth patterns of experimental nestlings reared alone were similar to those reported for shiny cowbirds reared alongside baywing young. Hence, we did not find support for the hypothesis that non-mimetic nestlings require the assistance of host nest mates to elicit sufficient parental care from its baywing host. Furthermore, we found that shiny cowbirds that were reared alone continued receiving care from baywings after fledging, unlike shiny cowbirds from mixed broods. Our results add evidence to the idea of opposing selective pressures on the evolution of nest mate acceptance in cowbirds and suggest context-dependent host’s discrimination abilities that deserve further investigation. The evolution of nest mate killing versus tolerance strategies is a long-standing question in the study of brood parasitism. Parasitic nestlings may benefit from sharing the nest with host young if they collectively induce more parental provisioning and the parasite can benefit from it. Host nest mates could also confer protection against discrimination when hosts respond preferentially to stimuli of their own kind. We examined this idea in a generalist brood parasite, the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), and a host able to discriminate species-specific begging cues. The results showed that shiny cowbirds reared alone performed well and circumvent host discrimination also after leaving the nest. Our study supports the existence of trade-offs on the evolution of nest mate killing behaviours and adds evidence that context-dependent host’s discrimination abilities similar to those observed towards parasitic eggs can be at play towards parasitic fledglings.

Preventing juvenile sexual offending through parental monitoring: a comparison study of youth’s experiences of supervision

ABSTRACTThe parental monitoring literature has long observed a link between parental monitoring and juvenile antisocial behaviour. This study extends this line of research to juveniles who commit sexual abuse. The present study investigates whether juvenile reports of parental monitoring differ between juvenile sexual offenders (n = 338), juvenile delinquents (n = 346), and non-incarcerated juvenile controls (n = 256). Results indicate that both incarcerated groups reported significantly less parental knowledge compared to juvenile controls. Further, both juvenile sexual offenders and juvenile controls reported significantly more parental control compared to juvenile delinquents. With regard to parental solicitation, the results were mixed for sexual offenders. They reported high levels of solicitation for some items (e.g. what the youth was doing, who they were with), and lower levels for other items (e.g. where the youth was, whether an adult would be present). When repeating these analyses with the exclusion of non-parent caregivers, a similar pattern of results emerged; however, item-level analyses revealed that parents of juvenile delinquents reported certain types of solicitation and control behaviours more frequently (e.g. asked where the youth was going, made sure the rules were followed) compared to findings from the main sample. Potential explanations for these findings as well as practical implications for prevention are discussed.

Male age is associated with extra-pair paternity, but not with extra-pair mating behaviour

Extra-pair paternity is the result of copulation between a female and a male other than her social partner. In socially monogamous birds, old males are most likely to sire extra-pair offspring. The male manipulation and female choice hypotheses predict that age-specific male mating behaviour could explain this old-over-young male advantage. These hypotheses have been difficult to test because copulations and the individuals involved are hard to observe. Here, we studied the mating behaviour and pairing contexts of captive house sparrows, Passer domesticus. Our set-up mimicked the complex social environment experienced by wild house sparrows. We found that middle-aged males, which would be considered old in natural populations, gained most extra-pair paternity. However, both, female solicitation behaviour and subsequent extra-pair matings were not associated with male age. Further, copulations were more likely when solicited by females than when initiated by males (i.e. unsolicited copulations). Male initiated within-pair copulations were more common than male initiated extra-pair copulations. To conclude, our results did not support either hypothesis regarding age-specific male mating behaviour. Instead, female choice, independent of male age, governed copulation success, especially in an extra-pair context. Post-copulatory mechanisms might determine why older males sire more extra-pair offspring.

Species divergence in offspring begging and parental provisioning is linked to nutritional dependency

In animal species in which parents provide food to their dependent young, offspring often display conspicuous begging signals. These solicitation behaviors are important components of parent–offspring communication, but it is currently unclear how they and the parental response covary with offspring dependency on parental food provisioning across species. Burying beetles (Nicrophorus) are well known for providing elaborate biparental care, including provisioning of begging larvae. By using a multispecies approach, we show that larval begging intensity, as well as the time parents spend provisioning, differ greatly between individuals of the 3 species: N. orbicollis, N. pustulatus, and N. vespilloides. Our results demonstrate that the most dependent offspring of N. orbicollis invest the most time in begging, whereas the most independent offspring of N. pustulatus invest the least amount of time in begging. Thus, we suggest that begging intensity differs due to intrinsic differences in nutritional need between the species rather than because of an arbitrary divergence in begging behavior. We further show that in all 3 species, females spend significantly more time provisioning than males, although there is considerable divergence between species in the extent to which females and males contribute to the provisioning of larvae. We discuss the potential selective factors leading to this diversification of offspring begging and parental provisioning in relation to the distinct variation in offspring dependence between the 3 species.

Reducing Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Survivors' Ratings of Quality Cancer Care: The Enduring Impact of Trust.

Patient satisfaction provides an important illumination of the quality of care that is delivered. Satisfaction with care is often lower in Black women compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Data are lacking regarding quality ratings of breast cancer patients. We examined racial disparities in ratings of the quality of cancer care in newly diagnosed Black (n = 217) and White (n = 152) patients. This was a cross-sectional observational study. Patients were recruited through hospitals and community outreach. Women with primary invasive, nonmetastatic breast cancer were eligible. Trained interviewers administered a standardized survey through telephone; clinical data were abstracted from medical records. The primary outcome, healthcare quality, was assessed using the PSQ-18, which assessed patients' ratings regarding four healthcare domains: interpersonal care, financial issues, technical ratings of physicians, and access and convenience. Independent variables included healthcare factors (e.g., suspicion toward the healthcare system), psychosocial factors (e.g., physicians' solicitation behaviors), and socioeconomic factors (e.g., limited access to resources). Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate associations between each healthcare quality domain and independent variables. In univariate analysis, Black women reported lower ratings for four domains: technical (Black m = 3.99; White m = 4.26; p < .001), interpersonal (Black m = 4.15, White m = 4.35; p < .01), financial (Black m = 3.81, White m = 4.0, p < .001), and access and convenience (Black m = 3.92, White m = 4.08, p < .01). After adjusting for healthcare characteristics and psychosocial factors, trust in providers was significantly associated with three domains (β = 0.085, p < .001, technical; β = 0.066, p < .0001, interpersonal; β = 0.043, p < .0001, financial). Racial disparities in ratings of healthcare quality were diminished across several domains after controlling for psychosocial and healthcare factors. Strategies aimed at improving self-efficacy in women with higher levels of mistrust may improve patient satisfaction.

Schmerzbezogenes Elternverhalten

There is a dearth of research studies regarding the pain-related behavior of parents with children suffering from chronic pain. This study examined the pain-related reactions of mothers and fathers, analyzed changes in these reactions following the child's inpatient interdisciplinary pain treatment and identified predictors for these changes. Using validated questionnaires 40 mothers and 40 fathers of children suffering from chronic pain reported their pain-related responses and cognitive distortions at treatment commencement, immediately following therapy as well as at follow-up after 6 and 12 months. At treatment commencement there were neither differences between maternal and paternal behavior nor in their reactions towards the sons and daughters. Immediately after treatment both parents showed increased distracting behavior and decreased solicitous behavior. Only the change in solicitous behavior showed long-term stability. The study identified the extent of parental catastrophizing at treatment commencement as well as changes in this reaction during treatment as predictors for reduction in solicitous behavior. The more parents reported catastrophizing thoughts at treatment commencement, the less they changed their solicitous behavior and strong changes in catastrophizing during treatment correlated with strong changes in solicitous reactions. Pain-related solicitous behavior can be modified by the interdisciplinary inpatient treatment of chronic pain in children and changes in solicitous behavior seem to be closely related to parental catastrophizing. This association should be considered when dealing with parents of children with chronic pain and also within the framework of future research projects.

The Relationship Between Parent Trait Anxiety and Parent-reported Pain, Solicitous Behaviors, and Quality of Life Impairment in Children With Cancer.

Pain-related disability in youth has been shown to be associated with parental psychological distress and solicitous behaviors. This study sought to investigate how parental anxiety may impact children's functioning with respect to pain and health-related quality of life in a sample of children with cancer. A total of 353 parents of children treated for cancer completed measures of anxiety, behavioral responses to children's pain, and of their child's quality of life and pain. Children ages 8 to 18 completed measures of their own quality of life and pain. Parent anxiety was significantly associated with parent ratings of children's pain severity (P=0.004) and frequency (P=0.008), as well as parent solicitous responses (P=0.041) and child quality of life. Regression analysis revealed that parent anxiety significantly predicted solicitous behaviors (P=0.006), pain frequency (P=0.043), and child quality of life (P ≤ 0.004). These findings suggest parent anxiety plays a significant role in parent perception of children's pain and quality of life in pediatric cancer patients. Future research is needed to further clarify the nature of these relationships, which will help identify how parent anxiety may be an important target for pain management in children with cancer.

Electronic intervention and platforms and their impacts on crowdfunding behaviour

The following study examines the crowdfunding behaviour of a sample of business professionals located in the service sector of metropolitan Pittsburgh, PA. In general, the empirical findings suggested that smaller goals tend to have better success ratios, while getting the targets achieved tends to attract more donors, especially when a goal is nearly met. Contrary to findings in some previous literature, there appears to be a weak link between respondents' social networking use and familiarity with crowdfunding. Furthermore, respondents' charitable giving habits did not closely link with crowdfunding solicitation behaviour. Finally, there was a weak connection between crowdfunding behaviour and income, but age did reveal a significant connection.

Electronic intervention and platforms and their impacts on crowdfunding behaviour

The following study examines the crowdfunding behaviour of a sample of business professionals located in the service sector of metropolitan Pittsburgh, PA. In general, the empirical findings suggested that smaller goals tend to have better success ratios, while getting the targets achieved tends to attract more donors, especially when a goal is nearly met. Contrary to findings in some previous literature, there appears to be a weak link between respondents' social networking use and familiarity with crowdfunding. Furthermore, respondents' charitable giving habits did not closely link with crowdfunding solicitation behaviour. Finally, there was a weak connection between crowdfunding behaviour and income, but age did reveal a significant connection.

Conspicuous and cryptic morphs of a polytypic poison frog differ in reproductive output because of differences in tadpole performance, not parental effort

Predation risk can drive life-history evolution in prey, with high adult mortality favouring the prioritization of current over future reproduction. Populations that evolve or adopt different or differently effective strategies to avoid predation, then, should evolve different life-history strategies. We compared reproductive output, under identical captive breeding conditions, of three allopatric morphs of polytypic poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) that likely experience different predation risk. We predicted that pairs of a well-defended (conspicuous and highly toxic) morph would prioritize future reproduction, and thus reproduce less often than a poorly defended (cryptic and less toxic) morph, while a cryptic but highly toxic lineage would be intermediate. These predictions were generally met: the conspicuous, toxic morph produced fewer juveniles than the cryptic morphs. However, the results of cross-fostering tadpoles among morphs suggested that these differences arose not from the quality of care parents provided, as predicted by life-history theory, but rather from differences expressed in tadpoles. Moreover, all cross-fostered tadpoles were less successful than tadpoles reared by their own parents, perhaps suggesting that parents discriminate against unrelated tadpoles or that parental care and offspring solicitation behaviours have diverged among populations. These results suggest opportunities for comparative studies exploring the entire complexity of the selective landscapes experienced by these polytypic frogs.

Baby, you light-up my face: culture-general physiological responses to infants and culture-specific cognitive judgements of adults.

Infants universally elicit in adults a set of solicitous behaviors that are evolutionarily important for the survival of the species. However, exposure, experience, and prejudice appear to govern adults' social choice and ingroup attitudes towards other adults. In the current study, physiological arousal and behavioral judgments were assessed while adults processed unfamiliar infant and adult faces of ingroup vs. outgroup members in two contrasting cultures, Japan and Italy. Physiological arousal was investigated using the novel technique of infrared thermography and behavioral judgments using ratings. We uncovered a dissociation between physiological and behavioral responses. At the physiological level, both Japanese and Italian adults showed significant activation (increase of facial temperature) for both ingroup and outgroup infant faces. At the behavioral level, both Japanese and Italian adults showed significant preferences for ingroup adults. Arousal responses to infants appear to be mediated by the autonomic nervous system and are not dependent on direct caregiving exposure, but behavioral responses appear to be mediated by higher-order cognitive processing based on social acceptance and cultural exposure.

Oxytocin facilitates fidelity in well-established marmoset pairs by reducing sociosexual behavior toward opposite-sex strangers.

Behavioral strategies that facilitate the maintenance of social bonds are critical for the preservation of high-quality social relationships. Central oxytocin (OT) activity modulates the behavioral features of socially monogamous relationships in a number of mammalian species (including marmoset monkeys), and plays a vital role in the behavioral maintenance of long-term social relationships. Two distinct variants of OT have been identified in some New World primates (including marmosets; Lee et al., 2011). The marmoset variant of the oxytocin ligand (Pro(8)-OT) is structurally distinct from the consensus mammalian variant of the oxytocin ligand (Leu(8)-OT), due to a proline substitution at the 8th amino-acid position. The goal of the present study was to determine if treating marmosets with Pro(8)-OT, relative to treatments with Leu(8)-OT, control saline, or an OT antagonist, had modulatory effects on the behavioral maintenance of long-term social relationships in marmosets. Treatment with the Pro(8) variant, but not the Leu(8) variant, of OT facilitated fidelity with a long-term partner by reducing time spent in close proximity with an opposite-sex stranger. However, this facilitative effect of Pro(8)-OT on proximity behavior manifested itself differently in male and female marmosets, such that females preferred to interact socially with their partner rather than a stranger when treated with Pro(8)-OT, while males spent less time in close proximity with both their partner and a stranger when treated with Pro(8)-OT. Furthermore, treatment with Pro(8)-OT, but not Leu(8)-OT, significantly delayed the expression of sexual solicitation behavior toward an opposite-sex stranger in both male and female marmosets, but had no effect on sociosexual behavior directed toward a long-term partner. These results suggest that the OT system is highly involved in reducing fidelity-threatening behaviors in well-established marmoset pairs, and that the effects were only produced by species-specific OT ligands.

Emotional and Developmental Repair through Psychodrama: Floortime for Grown-Ups

Emotional and Developmental Repair through Psychodrama: Floortime for Grown-Ups