Search

Although self-control theory has been thought to be entirely consistent with the gang selection model, key theoretical predictions of the general theory imply gang selection effects for those with lower self-control and gang facilitation effects for those with higher self-control. This new hypothesis is tested among a large sample of jail inmates. Results indicate that self-control did not render the gang–violence relationship spurious for the sample as a whole. Gang membership had a significantly greater impact on violent crime among those with very high self-control, but there were still statistically significant gang facilitation effects for the other three self-control groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Low doses of MK-801, PEAQX, and ifenprodil increased overall social interactions. [•] Only the NR2B antagonist, ifenprodil, increased play and social contact. [•] These effects on social interactions were not due to alterations in locomotion. [•] Increases in ethanol-induced social behavior may be driven partly by NMDA blockade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Social environment influences alcohol consumption in humans; however, animal models have only begun to address biological underpinnings of these effects. Objectives: We investigated whether social influences on alcohol drinking in the prairie vole are specific to the sex of the social partner. Methods: In Experiment 1, control, sham, and gonadectomized voles were placed either in mesh-divided housing with a same-sex sibling or isolation with access to ethanol. In Experiment 2, animals were given an elevated plus maze test (EPM) and then females were paired with a castrated male followed by isolation or mesh-divided housing with access to ethanol. In Experiment 3, subjects categorized as low or high drinkers based on initial ethanol intake were placed in mesh-divided housing with an opposite-sex partner of the same or opposite drinking group and ethanol access. Subjects were then moved back to isolation for a final ethanol access period. Results: Same-sex pairs showed social facilitation of drinking similar to previous reports. Gonadectomy did not affect alcohol drinking. Opposite-sex paired animals in Experiment 2 did not differ in alcohol drinking based on social housing. EPM measures suggested a relationship between anxiety-like behaviors and drinking that depended on social environment. Experiment 3 identified moderate changes in alcohol preference based on social housing, but these effects were influenced by the animal's own drinking behavior and were independent of their partner's drinking. Conclusions: Social influences on alcohol self-administration in prairie voles differ based on the sex of a social partner, consistent with human drinking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social relationships have important effects on alcohol drinking. There are conflicting reports, however, about whether earlylife family structure plays an important role in moderating alcohol use in humans. We have previously modeled social facilitation of alcohol drinking in peers in socially monogamous prairie voles. We have also modeled the effects of family structure on the development of adult social and emotional behaviors. Here we assessed whether alcohol intake would differ in prairie voles reared by both parents compared to those reared by a single mother. We also assessed whether meadow voles, a closely related species that do not form lasting reproductive partnerships, would differ in alcohol drinking or in the effect of social influence on drinking. Prairie voles were reared either bi-parentally (BP) or by a single mother (SM). BP- and SM-reared adult prairie voles and BP-reared adult meadow voles were given limited access to a choice between alcohol (10%) and water over four days and assessed for drinking behavior in social and non-social drinking environments. While alcohol preference was not different between species, meadow voles drank significantly lower doses than prairie voles. Meadow voles also had significantly higher blood ethanol concentrations than prairie voles after receiving the same dose, suggesting differences in ethanol metabolism. Both species, regardless of rearing condition, consumed more alcohol in the social drinking condition than the non-social condition. Early life family structure did not significantly affect any measure. Greater drinking in the social condition indicates that alcohol intake is influenced similarly in both species by the presence of a peer. While the ability of prairie voles to model humans may be limited, the lack of differences in alcohol drinking in BP- and SM-reared prairie voles lends biological support to human studies demonstrating no effect of singleparenting on alcohol abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined social facilitation and emotional convergence in amusement, sadness, and fear in dynamic interactions. Dyads of friends or strangers jointly watched emotion-eliciting films while they either could or could not communicate nonverbally. We assessed three components of each emotion (expressions, appraisals, and feelings), as well as attention to and social motives toward the co-participant. In Study 1, participants interacted through a mute videoconference. In Study 2, they sat next to each other and either were or were not separated by a partition. Results revealed that facilitation and convergence are not uniform across different emotions and emotion components. Particularly strong supporting patterns emerged for the facilitation of and convergence in smiling. When direct interaction was possible (Study 2), friends showed a general tendency for strong convergence, with the exception of fear-related appraisals. This suggests that underlying processes of emotional contagion and social appraisal are differentially relevant for different emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social loafing and social facilitation are stable behavioral effects that describe increased or decreased motivation, as well as effort and cooperation in teamwork as opposed to individual working situations. Recent twin studies demonstrate the heritability of cooperative behavior. Brain imaging studies have shown that reciprocity, cooperativeness, and social rewards activate reward processing areas with strong dopaminergic input, such as the ventral striatum. Thus, candidate genes for social behavior are hypothesized to affect dopaminergic neurotransmission. In the present study, we investigated the dopaminergic genetic contribution to social cooperation, especially to social loafing and social facilitation. N = 106 healthy, Caucasian subjects participated in the study and were genotyped for three polymorphisms relevant to the dopaminergic system (COMTval158met, DRD2 c957t, DRD2 rs#2283265). In addition to a main effect indicating an increased performance in teamwork situations, we found a significant interaction between a haplotype block covering both DRD2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs#6277 and rs#2283265), henceforth referred to as the DRD2-haplotype block, and the COMT val158met polymorphism (rs#4680) with social facilitation. Carriers of the DRD2 CT-haplotype block and at least one Val-allele showed a greater increase in performance in teamwork settings when compared with carriers of the CT-haplotype block and the Met/Met-genotype. Our results suggest that epistasis between COMTval158met and the two DRD2 SNPs contributes to individual differences in cooperativeness in teamwork settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study in La Carpio, San Jose, Costa Rica which examines how Dramatic Problem Solving (DPS), an interactive theatre based facilitation, was implemented structural conflict transformation at a community in interpersonal and intrapersonal level. It notes that the study incorporated an action research on a theatre based facilitation model and merged the fields of conflict resolution with performance studies. It reveals that a facilitated problem solving model is the way performance can make physical and real what is often unspoken or hidden.

Moreland eloquently argues for excluding dyads from group process research and theory. Although dyads can have properties that do not lend themselves to certain group process research (e.g., coalition formation) and have properties that can go beyond typical group processes (e.g., intimate relations and love), in most instances dyads are groups of two and operate under the same principles and theories that explain group processes for groups of three and larger. In this article, the author presents research and theory that support the inclusion of dyads as groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the interplay between trust and conflict as antecedents of team effectiveness. In the first cross-sectional study, two alternative path models are tested in a sample of 174 teams (897 participants) with the emergent states of task conflict, relationship conflict, and trust acting as mediators between team demographic diversity (gender and nationality) on the one hand and perceived team effectiveness on the other. In one model trust is considered as an antecedent for the two types of conflict, while in the other the two types of conflict precede the emergence of trust. Although the fit indices for the model in which trust is considered the antecedent of conflict were slightly better, both models fitted the data well. The interdependence of trust and conflict was further explored in a second longitudinal study (49 teams), and the results showed that trust emerging in the initial team interaction phases is a good predictor for the emergence of both task and relationship conflict in further stages of team development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the learning and action manual, which is based on the experiences of the Enhancing Pathways Into Care (EPIC) project, to improve the mental health services for black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. The manual discusses topics such as interpersonal transactions and the significance of external facilitation and leadership in mental health services. An overview of the EPIC project is given.

Corporate social capital involves the likelihood of ego actors accessing and using the resources held by their network alters to facilitate work-related goals. Corporate social capital networks span multiple levels of analysis from individuals, to workteams, organizations, and organizational field-nets. Repeated interactions strengthen social capital ties by building trust and confidence among actors, reducing the temptation to behave opportunistically towards partners, and facilitating numerous favorable outcomes. However, these relations can become liabilities when agents use their individual social capital to benefit their organizations. Social capital concepts may help to explain the evolution of the strategic alliance network in the Global Information Sector, a multi-industry system whose collaborative agreements grew exponentially from 1989 to 2000, creating a complex network of overlapping partnerships. The evolving alliance network comprises a collective structure of corporate social capital, an organizational field-net that simultaneously facilitates and constrains its member firms' opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how the Emotion-in-Relationships Model (ERM), a theory designed to predict people's experience of emotion, might explain persuasive messages. A study was conducted in which 248 individuals simulated leaving a date request voicemail message. Consistent with ERM, people's perceptions of interference from partners were positively associated with appraisals of self threat and relationship threat and negatively associated with the fluency of messages. People's perceptions of facilitation from partners were positively associated with identity management strategies, positive politeness, and the affection of messages. These results persisted after covarying relationship satisfaction. Taken together, the findings shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of ERM as a theory of interpersonal communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. According to R. B. Zajonc's (1965) drive theory of social facilitation, the mere presence of others increases arousal and, thereby, the frequency of dominant responses (i.e., responses with the greatest habit strength). In the present experiment, U.S. undergraduates performed a stimulus discrimination task under 1 of 2 conditions: in the presence of another individual (audience) or alone. The mere presence condition was designed to make it difficult for the participants to attend directly to the audience. The task was designed to minimize the likelihood that the specific response (numerical preference) would be attributable to a desire to respond appropriately to the audience. There was a significant difference in the mean number of dominant responses between the participants in the audience condition and those in the alone condition. The results provide support for Zajonc's mere presence drive theory of social facilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthesis is proposed such that social loafing, social facilitation, and deindividuation are viewed as different ways of arranging social consequences. The effects of such arrangements have been measured in past research through productive output (social loafing and social facilitation) or through anti normative behaviors (deindividuation). All three effects are manipulable by changing individual identifiability, evaluation, social identity, task difficulty, and presence in a group. In general, when people are in groups then there is less individual visibility and therefore fewer negative social consequences individually for reducing output or for increasing socially unacceptable behaviors, even if outputs are not explicitly pooled (traditional social loafing). Whereas social loafing and social facilitation have been empirically linked in past experiments, social loafing and deindividuation have not. An experiment was therefore conducted in which participants worked on a brainstorming task alone or in a group, and with or without individual identifiability. Effects of both a modified social loafing paradigm (reduced output in groups) and a deindividuation paradigm (more socially unacceptable responses in groups) were found simultaneously for the first time. Combined with other good evidence linking social loafing and social facilitation, this supports the idea that the three topics are not separate phenomena but different arrangements of social consequence variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthesis is proposed such that social loafing, social facilitation, and deindividuation are viewed as different ways of arranging social consequences. The effects of such arrangements have been measured in past research through productive output (social loafing and social facilitation) or through antinormative behaviors (deindividuation). All three effects are manipulable by changing individual identifiability, evaluation, social identity, task difficulty, and presence in a group. In general, when people are in groups then there is less individual visibility and therefore fewer negative social consequences individually for reducing output or for increasing socially unacceptable behaviors, even if outputs are not explicitly pooled (traditional social loafing). Whereas social loafing and social facilitation have been empirically linked in past experiments, social loafing and deindividuation have not. An experiment was therefore conducted in which participants worked on a brainstorming task alone or in a group, and with or without individual identifiability. Effects of both a modified social loafing paradigm (reduced output in groups) and a deindividuation paradigm (more socially unacceptable responses in groups) were found simultaneously for the first time. Combined with other good evidence linking social loafing and social facilitation, this supports the idea that the three topics are not separate phenomena but different arrangements of social consequence variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents requirements techniques to design successful interventions such as services, products or communications. Uscreates reportedly uses collaborative and creative approaches to support and improve public-sector behavior change programs in Great Britain. Capturing requirements involve people to participate in conversation which is a creative process that is low in technology but high in facilitation. Also mentioned is the creation of The Touring Café Caravan, a creative mobile space by UScreates.