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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Measuring social behavior: social dominance.

Social dominance develops more slowly when young animals are kept in intact peer groups where they need not compete for resources. Learned generalizations may cause smaller and weaker animals to accept subordinate status readily when confronted with strangers that would be formidable opponents. Sexual hormones and sensitivity to them can influence the onset of aggression and status attained. After dominance orders are established, they tend to be stable in female groups but are less so in male groups. Psychological influences can affect dominance relationships when strangers meet and social alliances within groups may affect relative status of individuals. Whether status associated with agonistic behavior is correlated with control of space and scarce resources needs to be determined for each species and each kind of resource. When such correlations exists, competitive tests and agonistic behavior associated with gaining access to scarce resources can be useful to the observer in learning about dominance relationships rapidly. Examples are given to illustrate how estimates of social dominance can be readily attained and some strengths and weaknesses of the various methods.

Aggression↗

Childhood body-focused behaviors and social behaviors as risk factors of eating disorders.

BACKGROUND: The risk factors for adolescent eating disorders are poorly understood. It is generally agreed, however, that interactions with one's body and interactions with others are two important features in the development of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Therefore, we assessed a variety of childhood body-focused behaviors and childhood social behaviors in eating-disordered patients as compared to non-eating-disordered subjects. METHOD: We compared 50 female inpatients with eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia nervosa), 50 female inpatients with polysubstance dependence, and 50 nonpatient female control subjects with no history of eating or substance abuse disorders (all defined by DSM-IV criteria), using a semi-structured interview of our own design. We asked questions about (1) childhood body-focused behaviors (e.g. thumb-sucking) and body-focused family experiences (e.g. bodily caresses), and (2) childhood social behaviors (e.g. numbers of close friends) and family social styles (e.g. authoritarian upbringing). RESULTS: Many body-focused measures, such as feeding problems, auto-aggressive behavior, lack of maternal caresses, and family taboos regarding nudity and sexuality, characterized eating-disordered patients as opposed to both comparison groups, as did several social behaviors, such as adjustment problems at school and lack of close friends. However, nail-biting, insecure parental bonding, and childhood physical and sexual abuse were equally elevated in both psychiatric groups. CONCLUSION: It appears that eating-disordered patients, as compared to substance-dependent patients and healthy controls, show a distinct pattern of body-focused and social behaviors during childhood, characterized by self-harm, a rigid and 'body-denying' family climate, and lack of intimacy.

Adolescent↗

Social behavior and social motivation in adolescent rats: role of housing conditions and partner's activity.

The present study investigated 1) the effects of individual and grouped housing on social investigation, social contact behavior, and play behavior in adolescent rats tested with low socially active (grouped) and high socially active (isolated) play partners; and 2) the effects of long-term (8 days) and short-term (24 h) isolation on social behavioral manifestations and social motivation in terms of preference or avoidance of play partners. Social isolation of adolescent rats activated play behavior and social behaviors different from play, but play was predominantly affected under the conditions of this study. Long-term isolation was more effective than short-term, and resulted in greater manifestation of play and social preference. Adolescent rats were able to modify their social behaviors in response to social activity of the play partner: in isolated animals exposed to low socially active group-housed partners, play behavior was transformed into social activities unrelated to play; exposure of group-housed adolescents to high socially active previously isolated partners resulted in an increase of play behavior. Testing that allowed avoidance of social contacts revealed a dissociation between manifestations of play behavior and social motivation: group-housed play partners of isolated animals showed elevated levels of play behavior but a tendency to avoid their isolated pairmates.

Aging↗

The Triandis model for the study of health and illness behavior: a social behavior theory with sensitivity to diversity.

The Triandis model of social behavior offers exceptional promise to nurse researchers whose goal is to achieve cultural sensitivity in their research investigations. The model includes six components: consequential beliefs, affect, social influences, previous behavioral habits, physiologic arousal, and facilitating environmental resources. A directed methodology to include culture-relevant items in the measurement of each of these model components allows researchers to capture the diverse explanations of health and illness behavior that might pertain in diverse populations. Researchers utilizing the model can achieve theory-based explanations of differences they observe by gender, race/ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. The Triandis model can provide studies to target variables for future intervention studies, as well as highlight areas for needed political action to equalize access to and delivery of nursing care.

Culture↗

Investigating the cognitive neuroscience of social behavior.

Social cognitive neuroscience is a fledgling discipline that has already accrued an impressive body of data, but important questions remain regarding the theoretical constructs and methodological approaches that it utilizes. An overview of the papers in this special issue points to several key issues facing the field. We need a theoretical vocabulary that bridges three domains: our intuitive "folk" conceptions of other people, the explanations offered by social psychology, and the explanations offered by cognitive neuroscience. And we need a method that can extract common patterns across multiple studies, to complement strict hypothesis testing of individual studies. These issues can be addressed, in part, by giving theory and experiment equal time, and by fostering an interdisciplinary approach that includes neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, anthropology and allied disciplines.

Animals↗

Sex differences in social behavior. Are the social role and evolutionary explanations compatible?

The competing claims of two explanations of sex differences in social behavior, social role theory, and evolutionary psychology are examined. The origin and scope of research on sex differences in social behavior are outlined, and the application of social role theory is discussed. Research that is based on modern sexual selection theory is described, and whether its findings can be explained by social role theory is considered. Findings associated with social role theory are weighed against evolutionary explanations. It is concluded that evolutionary theory accounts much better for the overall pattern of sex differences and for their origins. A coevolutionary approach is proposed to explain cross-cultural consistency in socialization patterns.

Female↗

Prenatal exposure to morphine affects juvenile play behavior and adult social behavior in rats.

The effects of morphine exposure in utero on play behavior and social behavior were investigated in a longitudinal study. Wistar rat dams were SC injected daily with saline (control) or 10 mg/kg morphine from day 8 to day 21 of gestation. Play behavior of the offspring was measured at 3 and 4 weeks of age and social behavior at 3 months of age. Pinning, a measure for play behavior and social grooming of the morphine-treated offspring were significantly elevated compared to saline controls, especially on day 21. The onset-latency of pinning behavior was not changed. Furthermore, prenatal morphine treatment resulted in more social approach and less social avoidance behavior in adulthood, whereas changes in general locomotor activity were not observed. The results are discussed in relation to the effects of in utero exposure of morphine on the development of incentive aspects of play and social behavior.

Animals↗

Multiple sources of data on social behavior and social status in the school: a cross-age comparison.

Behavioral data relating to peer social status were collected from peers, teachers, and observers on both first- and third-grade boys (ages 6-7 and 8-9 years, respectively). Peer and teacher ratings had greater intermethod agreement than observer data, although all 3 sources provided evidence that rejected and controversial boys were more aggressive than other boys. However, relatively little aggression was observed among the older boys, indicating that peers and teachers may be better sources of information about aggression in this group. Observational data differentiated among status groups on measures of activity (on task vs. off-task, and prosocial play vs. solitary activity) for both age groups. Rejected boys displayed little prosocial behavior according to peers and teachers, but were not less often engaged in prosocial play, according to observers. Neglected boys were the most solitary group during play; however, teachers rated rejected boys as the most solitary, contrary to observations. Controversial boys were seen as highly aggressive by all sources but as highly prosocial only by peers and observers.

Age Factors↗

A system of assessment for adaptive behavior, social skills, behavioral function, medication side-effects, and psychiatric disorders.

A reliable and valid assessment is necessary for the effective delivery of services to those with mental retardation (MR). With constraints placed on financial and human resources, assessment must be comprehensive, yet cost-effective. We describe a method of assessment that operates within these constraints using informant-based measures that assess adaptive and maladaptive behavior, psychiatric disorders, behavior function, and medication side-effects.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Techniques for evaluation and quantification of pig reproductive, ingestive, and social behaviors.

A literature survey was conducted to find papers that reported pig behavior during the period 1987 to June 1990. A total of 171 papers reporting measures of pig behavior was identified. Investigators used either descriptions of behavior or they quantified behavior. Behavior was quantified by recording frequency, durations, sequences, or bouts of behavior. Sexual behavior was often recorded as an all-or-none event (e.g., they were bred or not). Feeding behavior was studied by either weighing feeders often or by operant techniques. Operant feeding devices were commonly used to study pig feeding and drinking behaviors. Social behavior was studied either as interactions among established groups or when pigs fought after grouping. In either case, behavioral frequencies or durations were often reported. A large number of papers documented studies of maternal-neonatal interactions, teat orders, and animal care issues. Only a few studies reported mechanisms controlling pig behavior. Because few studies investigated behavior-genetics or physiological mechanisms controlling pig behavior, these areas of investigation hold great opportunity for future improvements in pork production.

Animals↗

[Health care needs, brain functional ability, social behavior and social attendant circumstances of elderly patients in community and institutionalized geriatric care in the city of Zurich].

All aged persons being helped by community nursing-services, the house-helper service, the housekeeper service, or living in a home for the aged or in an apartment for seniors in a representative area of the city of Zurich are compared to all patients in nursing-homes of the city. This study included the size of social network measured by the number of different regular visitors, the number of different medications taken daily, the cognitive abilities measured by the Mini Mental Status, the activities of daily living and the social skills rated by the care-givers as well as the intensity of the care given. The groups were similar in age and sex-distribution but the nursing-home patients differed significantly in all other parameters from the others. In contrast, no significant differences could be found between persons receiving care in their homes and those in institutions for the aged.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Social behavior, dominance, and social deprivation of rats determine drug choice.

Relationships between social deprivation, dominance, and voluntary intake of ethanol (ETOH) and diazepam (D) were studied in male adult Wistar rats. Social behavior was registered by tetradic encounters in the open field prior to the rats' drug experiences. Social deprivation was induced by individual housing (LI) and contact caging (C). Nondeprived rats were housed in groups of four individuals (G) each. Social deprivation facilitated ETOH intake: LI rats consumed 30% more ETOH than G. Increase of deprivation by change of housing condition additionally raised ETOH consumption. ETOH experiences did not affect subsequent D choice. However, rats with a high ETOH consumption also preferred D. Individual drug disposition correlated with social dominance (in G: to social activity). Even in individual isolation dominant rats took less drugs than subordinate ones, but these rats raised their ETOH consumption when the housing conditions were changed. After nine months of voluntary ETOH intake and subsequently nine months without access to ETOH the rats showed signs of "behavioral dependence." Compared to naive animals they took twice as much ETOH and even after adulterating ETOH by quinine a high preference was perpetuated. During this state modifying social factors were no longer effective.

Animals↗

Problem social behavior in the workplace: an analysis of social behavior problems in a supported employment setting.

The social skills problems that may influence the work-related success of supported employees has been only infrequently documented in the research literature. Though a multitude of research describes the performance-related challenges faced by supported employees, few papers address the interpersonal difficulties encountered by supported employees in the workplace. The present paper uses job trainer or "coaches" logs and two promising rating scales (the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults [PIMRA and PIMRA-S]) to describe the social problems encountered by some supported employees. Job coach's logs indicated that approximately 58% of supported employees had experienced one or more incidents of interpersonal difficulty during their employment tenure and that 40% of the problems experienced by these individuals could be described as sexuality-related. Overall, about 25% of all supported employees had reported incidents of conflict with employees or customers that seemed sexuality-related. In addition, social and developmental factors that might contribute to the interpersonal problems found in the present research are discussed.

Adult↗

The primate amygdala and the neurobiology of social behavior: implications for understanding social anxiety.

The amygdala has long been implicated in the mediation of emotional and social behaviors. Because there are very few human subjects with selective bilateral damage of the amygdala, much of the evidence for these functional associations has come from studies employing animal subjects. Macaque monkeys live in complex, highly organized social groups that are characterized by stable and hierarchical relationships among individuals who engage in complex forms of social communication, such as facial expressions. Understanding the role of the amygdala in animals that display a level of social sophistication approaching that of humans will help in understanding the amygdala's role in human social behavior and in psychopathology such as social anxiety. Selective bilateral lesions of the amygdala in mature macaque monkeys result in a lack of fear responses to inanimate objects and a "socially uninhibited" pattern of behavior. These results imply that the amygdala functions as a protective "brake" on engagement of objects or organisms while an evaluation of potential threat is carried out. They also suggest that social anxiety may be a dysregulation or hyperactivity of the amygdala's evaluative process. Finally, recent data from developmental studies raise the possibility that, at least at some developmental stages, fear in social contexts may be subserved by different brain regions than fear of inanimate objects.

Amygdala↗

Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls.

We compared social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in three groups: (1) 28 children with specific mutism (who did not speak to teachers but were more likely to speak to parents and peers at home and school); (2) 30 children with generalized mutism (whose speaking was restricted primarily to their homes); and (3) 52 community controls. Children with generalized mutism evidenced higher anxiety at school, and more separation anxiety, OCD, and depressive symptoms at home. Parents and teachers reported that the social phobia and anxiety scores of children in both the specific and generalized mutism subgroups were higher than controls. Children in both the specific and generalized mutism groups evidenced greater deficits in verbal and nonverbal social skills at home and school than controls. Teachers and parents did not report differences in nonverbal measures of social cooperation and conflict resolution and we found no evidence that selective mutism was linked to an increase in externalizing problems such as oppositional behavior or ADHD. Although children with specific mutism speak in a wider range of situations and appear less anxious to their teachers than children with generalized mutism, significant socially phobic behavior and social skills deficits are present in both groups.

Anxiety Disorders↗