Personable
Social Behaviors Increase in Children with Autism in the Presence of Animals Compared to Toys
Marguerite O'Haire et al.
PLoS ONE, February 2013
Background: Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs) compared to toys.
Methods: Ninety-nine children from 15 classrooms in 4 schools met the inclusion criteria and participated in groups of three (1 child with ASD and 2 typically-developing peers). Each group was video-recorded during three 10-minute, free-play sessions with toys and three 10-minute, free-play sessions with two guinea pigs. Two blinded observers coded the behavior of children with ASD and their peers. To account for the nested study design, data were analyzed using hierarchical generalized linear modeling.
Results: Participants with ASD demonstrated more social approach behaviors (including talking, looking at faces, and making tactile contact) and received more social approaches from their peers in the presence of animals compared to toys. They also displayed more prosocial behaviors and positive affect (i.e., smiling and laughing) as well as less self-focused behaviors and negative affect (i.e., frowning, crying, and whining) in the presence of animals compared to toys.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with ASD.
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Bonds, Bridges and Quality of Life in Small Towns
Nicholas Recker
Applied Research in Quality of Life, March 2013, Pages 63-75
Abstract:
This paper examines the relationship between two types of social capital (bonding and bridging) and quality of life in small Iowa communities. Social capital literature suggests potentially differing community outcomes depending on the type of social capital present in each community. I utilize longitudinal data from 1994 to 2004 to assess the relationship between social capital and the amount of change in quality of life and overall levels of quality of life. The findings provide partial support of the hypotheses, namely that aspects of bridging (between group) social capital are significant and more useful in explaining variations in overall levels of quality of life and changes in levels of quality of life over a 10 year period compared with bonding (within group) social capital.
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Race and Reciprocity: Inter-household Exchanges in a Multiracial Neighborhood
Gabriel Ignatow et al.
Sociological Forum, March 2013, Pages 51-69
Abstract:
This study investigates the degree to which African-American households are socially integrated into a multiracial, middle-class suburban neighborhood near Dallas, Texas. Although U.S. neighborhoods are becoming increasingly heterogeneous in composition, little is known about black households' participation in social and informational networks within multiracial middle-class neighborhoods. Drawing on theories of the gift and social capital, we view neighborhoods in terms of complex patterns of inter-household exchanges of material and symbolic goods. We predict that black-led households will exchange at a lower rate with their neighbors than will other households and test this prediction using survey data collected from 119 households and from follow-up interviews with eight black heads of household. Our main finding from the survey is that black households exchanged at a significantly lower rate than did other households, ceteris paribus. The follow-up interviews found little evidence of black racial homophily in neighboring or of racism within the neighborhood. However, the low rate of black inter-household exchanges may be partly explained by black head of households' personal experiences of racism outside the neighborhood and by a racially constituted disposition against borrowing from neighbors. We discuss implications of our findings for research on racial integration and segregation.
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Gender differences in mediated communication: Women connect more than do men
Amanda Kimbrough et al.
Computers in Human Behavior, May 2013, Pages 896-900
Abstract:
Past research in gender differences in the overall Internet use has been contradictory. Some asserted men used it more than women, while others asserted there were no gender difference. Both camps concluded that men and women differed in their motivation and utilization of time spent online. The purpose of the present research was to take a contemporary look at these gender differences. Using an online survey, we asked participants about their experiences with multiple forms of mediated communication: social networking sites, e-mail, video calls, instant messaging, texting, and phone calls. Our results indicated that women, compared to men, are generally more frequent mediated communication users. Compared to men, women prefer and more frequently use text messaging, social media, and online video calls. These results suggest that the nature of mediated social interaction is changing.
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Losing Our Humanity: The Self-Dehumanizing Consequences of Social Ostracism
Brock Bastian et al.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, February 2013, Pages 156-169
Abstract:
People not only dehumanize others, they also dehumanize the self in response to their own harmful behavior. We examine this self-dehumanization effect across four studies. Studies 1 and 2 show that when participants are perpetrators of social ostracism, they view themselves as less human compared with when they engage in nonaversive interpersonal interactions. Perceived immorality of their behavior mediated this effect. Studies 3 and 4 highlight the behavioral consequences of self-dehumanization. The extent to which participants saw themselves as less human after perpetrating social ostracism predicted subsequent prosocial behavior. Studies 2 to 4 also demonstrate that consequences of self-dehumanization occur independently of any effects of self-esteem or mood. The findings are discussed in relation to previous work on dehumanization and self-perception. We conclude that in the context of immoral actions (self) dehumanization may be functional.
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Jan Kornelis Dijkstra et al.
PLoS ONE, February 2013
Abstract:
In adolescence, being socially successful depends to a large extent on being popular with peers. Even though some youths have what it takes to be popular, they are not, whereas others seem to have a secret ingredient that just makes the difference. In this study the G-allele of a functional polymorphism in the promotor region of the 5HT2A serotonin receptor gene (-G1438A) was identified as a secret ingredient for popularity among peers. These findings build on and extend previous work by Burt (2008, 2009). Tackling limitations from previous research, the role of the 5HT2A serotonin receptor gene was examined in adolescent males (N = 285; average age 13) using a unique sample of the TRAILS study. Carrying the G-allele enhanced the relation between aggression and popularity, particularly for those boys who have many female friends. This seems to be an "enhancer" effect of the G-allele whereby popularity relevant characteristics are made more noticeable. There is no "popularity gene", as the G-allele by itself had no effect on popularity.
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Johannes Zimmermann et al.
Journal of Research in Personality, June 2013, Pages 218-225
Abstract:
The frequency with which a person refers to herself is an important marker of psychological functioning. The aim of the current study was to explore the associations between self-referencing verbal behavior and interpersonal problems. We assessed the frequency of first-person singular and plural pronouns from transcribed clinical interviews with 118 participants. First-person singular pronouns were associated with elevated interpersonal distress and an intrusive interpersonal style; first-person plural pronouns were associated with low interpersonal distress and a cold interpersonal style. When controlling for depressive symptoms, specific interpersonal styles were even more accentuated. Self-referencing verbal behavior appears to have specific interpersonal implications beyond general interpersonal distress and depressive symptoms.
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Tracy Dumas, Katherine Phillips & Nancy Rothbard
Organization Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using survey data from two distinct samples, we found that reported integration behaviors (e.g., attending company parties, discussing nonwork matters with colleagues) were associated with closer relationships among coworkers but that this effect was qualified by an interaction effect. Racial dissimilarity moderated the relationship between integration and closeness such that integration was positively associated with relationship closeness for those who were demographically similar to their coworkers, but not for those who were demographically dissimilar from their coworkers. Additionally, this moderation effect was mediated by the extent to which respondents experienced comfort and enjoyment when integrating. These findings highlight the importance of creating the right kind of interactions for building closer relationships between employees, particularly relationships that span racial boundaries.
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Johanna Peetz & Lara Kammrath
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Self-regulatory abilities are important for communal actions in relationships. In this paper, we investigate folk theories about dispositional self-regulatory abilities (i.e., conscientiousness) in relationships. Do people recognize the importance of conscientiousness for communal acts with high self-control requirements? In two studies we show that participants ignored conscientiousness information when predicting their own future relationship behaviors. Specifically, they over-used information about their loving feelings and underused information about conscientiousness when predicting their ability to carry out sustained communal acts. However, when predicting another person's future relationship behaviors, such as those of a close friend (Study 1) or of their own romantic partner (Study 2), participants correctly incorporated information about the self-control requirements of the situation and the conscientiousness of the actor.
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Hurting You Hurts Me Too: The Psychological Costs of Complying With Ostracism
Nicole Legate et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Much research has documented the harmful psychological effects of being ostracized, but research has yet to determine whether compliance with ostracizing other people is psychologically costly. We conducted two studies guided by self-determination theory to explore this question, using a paradigm that borrows from both ostracism research and Milgram's classic study of obedience. Supporting our guiding hypothesis that compliance with ostracizing others carries psychological costs, the results of Experiment 1 showed that such compliance worsened mood compared with complying with instructions to include others and with receiving no instructions involving inclusion or exclusion, an effect explained by thwarted psychological needs resulting from ostracizing others. Experiment 2 revealed increases in negative affect both when individuals ostracized others and when individuals were ostracized themselves. Our findings point to the robust psychological costs associated with ostracizing other people, with implications for group behaviors.
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Conversational flow and entitativity: The role of status
Namkje Koudenburg, Tom Postmes & Ernestine Gordijn
British Journal of Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study examines the process by which perceptions of conversational flow foster an emergent sense of group entitativity. We propose that conversational flow influences more than just the quality of interpersonal relations: it signals entitativity - social unity at the group level. We predicted that when conversations are intermitted by brief silences after a target has spoken, this is perceived as disruptive for targets of low social status within the group: For low-status group members, such pauses raise concerns over respect and inclusion. However, for high-status group members, a similar intermission may be interpreted as an acknowledgement of their distinctive position in the group, and may therefore bolster the hierarchy and unity of the group. Two experiments support these hypotheses. Study 1 (N = 77) manipulated status in conversations of a target participant with confederates. Study 2 (N = 138) replicates the effect among participants who watch a videotaped conversation. Both studies show the predicted pattern, and suggest that belonging (Study 1) and perceived respect (Study 2) may mediate effects of condition on perceptions of group entitativity.
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Children and adults use attractiveness as a social cue in real people and avatars
Connor Principe & Judith Langlois
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Observing social interactions between children and adults is a major method in the toolkit of psychologists who examine social development and social relationships. Although this method has revealed many interesting phenomena, it cannot determine the effect of behavior independent of other traits. Research on the role of attractiveness in social development provides an example of this conundrum: Are attractive and unattractive children/adults treated differently because of their attractiveness (independent of their behavior), do they behave differently and thus elicit differential treatment, or both? Virtual world and avatar-based technologies allow researchers to control the social behaviors of targets; however, whether children and adults use the facial attractiveness of avatars as a social cue in the same way as they do with real peers is currently unknown. Using Mii avatars from the popular Nintendo Wii video game console, Study 1 found that the facial attractiveness ratings of real people strongly predicted the attractiveness ratings of avatar faces based on the former group. Study 2 revealed that adults (n = 46) and children (n = 42) prefer attractive avatars as social partners. The results of this set of methodological studies may help to clarify future research on the relationship between attractiveness and behavior throughout the lifespan. Furthermore, the use of avatars may allow studies to experimentally examine the effects of attractiveness in situations where such research is not ethical (e.g., peer victimization).
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Yunkyung Kim, Sonya Kwak & Myung-suk Kim
Computers in Human Behavior, May 2013, Pages 1091-1101
Abstract:
This study is to examine the effect of robots' language forms on people's acceptance of robots. We applied a concept of social distance to measure people's acceptance of robots. In an experiment, calling participants by name vs. not calling by name as well as the robot's speech styles (familiar vs. honorific), were used to impose a verticality and horizontality of social relationships between participants and robots. After the conversation with a robot, participants rated the robot's interpersonal traits and their comfortable approach distance to the robot, and their response to the robot during the experiment were analyzed. As a result, participants whom the robot called by their name perceived the robot as friendlier. They introduced themselves more actively, and were more intently focused on what the robot said. They asked the robot questions more frequently. Participants called by their names consequently approached the robot more closely than participants who were not called. An interaction effect was found between speech styles and whether names were used in regard to the perceived friendliness of robots, negative response to robots, and comfortable approach distance to robots. We discuss verbal interaction design for increasing people's acceptance of robots.
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Spread of Academic Success in a High School Social Network
Deanna Blansky et al.
PLoS ONE, February 2013
Abstract:
Application of social network analysis to education has revealed how social network positions of K-12 students correlate with their behavior and academic achievements. However, no study has been conducted on how their social network influences their academic progress over time. Here we investigated correlations between high school students' academic progress over one year and the social environment that surrounds them in their friendship network. We found that students whose friends' average GPA (Grade Point Average) was greater (or less) than their own had a higher tendency toward increasing (or decreasing) their academic ranking over time, indicating social contagion of academic success taking place in their social network.
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Peter Muennig et al.
Social Science & Medicine, forthcoming
Abstract:
Higher social capital is associated with improved mental and physical health and reduced risk of premature mortality. We explored the relationship between five measures of structural social capital and 1) intermediate health outcomes (elevated C-reactive protein, cholesterol, blood pressure, and serum fibrinogen) and 2) distal outcomes (cardiovascular and all cause mortality). We did so using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III 1988-1994 linked to the National Death Index with mortality follow-up through 2006. We employed ordinary least squares regression for the intermediate outcomes, seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) to consider combined effects, and Cox proportionate hazards models for mortality outcomes. We then performed extensive sensitivity analyses, exploring the contribution of various variables and reverse causality. We find that our measures of social capital did not predict statistically significant changes in the laboratory biomarkers we study. Nevertheless, belonging to organizations or attending church > 12 times per year were associated with reduced all cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70-0.93 and HR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.60-0.86, respectively). In SUR analyses, however, combined laboratory values were significant for all measures of social capital we study with the exception of visits to neighbors. This suggests that some forms of structural social capital improve survival through small changes in multiple measures of biological risk factors rather than moderate or large changes in any one measure.
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The effect of raising and lowering tryptophan levels on human mood and social behavior
Simon Young
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 5 April 2013
Abstract:
Acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) studies indicate that low serotonin can lower mood and also increase aggression, although results vary somewhat between studies with similar participants. Lowering of mood after ATD is related to the susceptibility of the study participants to clinical depression, and some participants show no effect on mood. This indicates that low serotonin can contribute to lowered mood, but cannot - by itself - cause lowered mood, unless other unknown systems interact with serotonin to lower mood. Studies using tryptophan supplementation demonstrate that increased serotonin can decrease quarrelsomeness and increase agreeableness in everyday life. Social interactions that are more agreeable and less quarrelsome are associated with better mood. Thus, serotonin may have direct effects on mood, but may also be able to influence mood through changes in social behaviour. The increased agreeableness and decreased quarrelsomeness resulting from increases in serotonin will help foster congenial relations with others and should help to increase social support. As social support and social isolation have an important relationship with both physical and mental health, more research is needed on the implications of the ability of serotonin to modulate social behaviour for the regulation of mood, and for future physical and mental health.
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Chris Fraley et al.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
One of the assumptions of attachment theory is that individual differences in adult attachment styles emerge from individuals' developmental histories. To examine this assumption empirically, the authors report data from an age 18 follow-up (Booth-LaForce & Roisman, 2012) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a longitudinal investigation that tracked a cohort of children and their parents from birth to age 15. Analyses indicate that individual differences in adult attachment can be traced to variations in the quality of individuals' caregiving environments, their emerging social competence, and the quality of their best friendship. Analyses also indicate that assessments of temperament and most of the specific genetic polymorphisms thus far examined in the literature on genetic correlates of attachment styles are essentially uncorrelated with adult attachment, with the exception of a polymorphism in the serotonin receptor gene (HTR2A rs6313), which modestly predicted higher attachment anxiety and which revealed a Gene × Environment interaction such that changes in maternal sensitivity across time predicted attachment-related avoidance. The implications of these data for contemporary perspectives and debates concerning adult attachment theory are discussed.
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Thomas Pollet, Sam Roberts & Robin Dunbar
PLoS ONE, January 2013
Abstract:
The theory of inclusive fitness has transformed our understanding of cooperation and altruism. However, the proximate psychological underpinnings of altruism are less well understood, and it has been argued that emotional closeness mediates the relationship between genetic relatedness and altruism. In this study, we use a real-life costly behaviour (travel time) to dissociate the effects of genetic relatedness from emotional closeness. Participants travelled further to see more closely related kin, as compared to more distantly related kin. For distantly related kin, the level of emotional closeness mediated this relationship - when emotional closeness was controlled for, there was no effect of genetic relatedness on travel time. However, participants were willing to travel further to visit parents, children and siblings as compared to more distantly related kin, even when emotional closeness was controlled for. This suggests that the mediating effect of emotional closeness on altruism varies with levels of genetic relatedness.
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Sharing a joke: The effects of a similar sense of humor on affiliation and altruism
Oliver Curry & Robin Dunbar
Evolution and Human Behavior, March 2013, Pages 125-129
Abstract:
Cooperation requires that individuals are able to identify, and preferentially associate with, others who have compatible preferences and the shared background knowledge needed to solve interpersonal coordination problems. This body of shared knowledge constitute a substantial proportion of what is called ‘culture'. It has been argued that, for this reason, individuals prefer to associate with others who share their culture, and also that shared appreciation of humor provides a particularly effective means of identifying others with the relevant preferences and knowledge. The present experiment uses a ‘dummy rating procedure' to compare the effects of sharing an appreciation of non-humorous (first lines of novels) and humorous (jokes) cultural stimuli on interpersonal affiliation, altruism and assessment. The results show that the degree of shared appreciation for both sets of stimuli had a positive effect on Affiliation; only humorous stimuli had an effect on Altruism; and neither effected the Assessment of others' personal traits. Thus, the results support the general theory that shared culture promotes affiliation, and provide evidence of the special role of humor in interpersonal relations.
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Erin Hollenbaugh & Marcia Everett
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, forthcoming
Abstract:
The connections between anonymity and self-disclosure online have received research attention, but the results have been inconclusive with regard to self-disclosure in blogs. This quantitative content analysis of 154 personal journal blogs tested some assumptions of the online disinhibition effect in order to examine the effect of types of anonymity on the amount, breadth, and depth of self-disclosure in blog entries. Results showed that participants disclosed more information in their blog entries when they were more visually identified (sharing a picture of themselves), contrary to the assumptions of the online disinhibition effect. Overall, a trend emerged where visual anonymity led to less disclosiveness, and discursive anonymity (sharing one's real name) led to less disclosiveness for particular types of bloggers.
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Kristina McDonald et al.
Journal of Early Adolescence, forthcoming
Abstract:
The current study examined how racial and sociobehavioral similarities were associated with friendship stability and friendship quality. Cross-race friends were not significantly similar to each other in peer-nominated shyness/withdrawal, victimization, exclusion, and popularity/sociability. Relative to same-race friends, cross-race friends were significantly less similar in peer-nominated popularity/sociability, exclusion, and victimization. Although same-race friendships were more prevalent than cross-race friendships, only similarity in friends' aggressive behavior (but not racial homophily) was related to friendship stability. Neither racial nor sociobehavioral similarity predicted friendship quality beyond adolescents' individual sociobehavioral characteristics. Taken together, findings suggest that although racial similarity may affect initial friendship formation, racial similarity may not impact friendship stability or friendship quality when also accounting for friends' similarity in sociobehavioral characteristics.
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Not all Rejections are Alike; Competence and Warmth as a Fundamental Distinction in Social Rejection
Pinar Çelik et al.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Social rejection can lead to a variety of emotions. Two studies show that specific emotional reactions to social rejection can be understood by relying on the fundamental distinction between competence and warmth. Rejection that is perceived to be due to incompetence leads to anger, whereas rejection that is perceived to be due to lack of warmth leads to sadness. Study 1 measures perceptions of competence and warmth judgments. Study 2 manipulates those perceptions. In both studies, rejection that was perceived to be the result of incompetence led primarily to anger, while rejection that was perceived to be the result of lack of warmth led primarily to sadness. These results show that the effects of rejection can be better understood if we take into account how rejection is perceived.