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Humans perceive a range of basic emotional connotations from music, such as joy, sadness, and fear, which can be decoded from structural characteristics of music, such as rhythm, harmony, and timbre. However, despite theory and evidence that music has multiple social functions, little research has examined whether music conveys emotions specifically associated with social status and social connection. This investigation aimed to determine whether the social emotions of dominance and affiliation are perceived in music and whether structural features of music predict social emotions, just as they predict basic emotions. Participants (N = 1513) listened to subsets of 750 music excerpts and provided ratings of energy arousal, tension arousal, valence, dominance, and affiliation. Ratings were modelled based on ten structural features of music. Dominance and affiliation were readily perceived in music and predicted by structural features including rhythm, harmony, dynamics, and timbre. In turn, energy arousal, tension arousal and valence were also predicted by musical structure. We discuss the results in view of current models of music and emotion and propose research to illuminate the significance of social emotions in music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This eye tracking study tested the hypothesis that narcissists' visual attention is motivated, focusing on two fundamental social motives: status and affiliation. We measured participants' full narcissism spectrum (narcissistic agency, antagonism, and neuroticism) via self-reports. We measured visual attention to status and affiliation images via eye-tracking in the lab. We hypothesized that narcissistic agency would relate to increased attention to status, and that narcissistic antagonism would relate to increased attention to status and decreased attention to affiliation. We formulated no hypotheses regarding narcissistic neuroticism. Results showed that only agentic narcissism was related to increased attention toward status. The three forms of narcissism were unrelated to attention to affiliation. These findings suggest that agentic narcissists' attention is driven by an underlying status motive. More broadly, findings are consistent with the notion that visual attention expresses and maintains people's personality traits via satisfying trait-congruent motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the prevalence of large-group living across the animal kingdom, no studies have examined the neural mechanisms that make group living possible. Spiny mice, Acomys , have evolved to live in large groups and exhibit a preference to affiliate with large over small groups. Here, we determine the neural circuitry that facilitates the drive to affiliate with large groups. We first identify an anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to lateral septum (LS) circuit that is more responsive to large than small groups of novel same-sex peers. Using chemogenetics, we then demonstrate that this circuit is necessary for both male and female group investigation preferences but only males' preference to affiliate with larger peer groups. Furthermore, inhibition of the ACC-LS circuit specifically impairs social, but not nonsocial, affiliative grouping preferences. These findings reveal a key circuit for the regulation of mammalian peer group affiliation. • Spiny mice, but not C57BL/6J mice, exhibit affiliative-peer-group preferences • The ACC-LS circuit is necessary for group investigation preferences in spiny mice • Inhibition of the ACC-LS reverses affiliative group preferences in male spiny mice • The ACC-LS circuit does not modulate nonsocial group size preferences in spiny mice Fricker et al. demonstrate that the ACC-LS circuit is necessary for peer group size preferences in communally breeding male and female spiny mice. These findings show that the ACC-LS circuit is an integral mediator of peer group affiliation responses that are likely critical for the formation and possibly the cohesion of complex mammalian societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-conflict behaviors are a crucial component of primate sociality, yet are difficult to study in the wild. We evaluated the presence and timing of reconciliation, victim-solicited and unsolicited third-party affiliation, and secondary and redirected aggression following observed agonistic interactions among 38 wild gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) in eight one-male, multi-female units at Guassa, Ethiopia, from April to August 2018. We also report background rates of aggression and patterns of agonistic interactions and post-conflict behaviours among wild geladas relative to possible mediating factors for each conflict, including social rank disparity, kinship type, sex, age class, conflict intensity, and conflict decidedness. Across 55 post-conflict and 55 subsequent matched-control focal follows, we found no evidence for post-conflict reconciliation, third-party affiliation, secondary aggression, or redirected aggression. These findings contrast with previous studies of captive geladas, which find that individuals often reconcile after fights and frequently exhibit unsolicited third-party affiliation when reconciliation does not occur. Our results from wild geladas point to possible populational differences in behavioral tendencies arising from variable space, time, social grouping, and/or food availability constraints. Our findings also reveal potential limitations in applying identical data collection protocols across environmental contexts and underscore the importance of creating generalizable cross-context metrics to better understand, and contextualize, the diversity of post-conflict behavioral mechanisms underpinning primate sociality in geladas and other group-living primates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) model proposes low threat sensitivity and low affiliation as risk factors for callous‐unemotional (CU) traits. Preliminary evidence for the STAR model comes from work in early childhood. However, studies are needed that explore the STAR dimensions in late childhood and adolescence when severe conduct problems (CP) emerge. Moreover, it is unclear how variability across the full spectrum of threat sensitivity and affiliation gives rise to different forms of psychopathology beyond CU traits. Methods: The current study addressed these gaps using parent‐ and child‐reported data from three waves and a sub‐study of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® of 11,878 youth (48% female; ages 9–12). Results: Consistent with the STAR model, low threat sensitivity and low affiliation were independently related to CU traits across informants and time. Moreover, there was significant interaction between the STAR dimensions, such that children with lower sensitivity to threat and lower affiliation had higher parent‐reported CU traits. Unlike CU traits, children with higher threat sensitivity had higher parent‐reported CP and anxiety. Finally, children with lower affiliation had higher parent‐reported CP, anxiety, and depression. Results largely replicated across informants and time, and sensitivity analysis revealed similar findings in children with and without DSM‐5 defined CP. Conclusions: Results support the STAR model hypotheses as they pertain to CU traits and delineate threat sensitivity and affiliation as independent transdiagnostic risk factors for different types of psychopathology. Future research is needed to develop fuller and more reliable and valid measures of affiliation and threat sensitivity across multiple assessment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging relational turbulence theory (RTT), this study examined how dating partners' relationship quality predicted cognitions and communication during planning conversations. In a lab-based study, college dating partners (n  =   71 different gender couples) assessed their relational turbulence, participated in two planning activities, and then reported their perceptions of collaborative planning and relational framing for each activity. Outside observers rated the conversations for collaborative planning, dominance, and affiliation behaviors. Following RTT, we hypothesized that relational turbulence would lead to decreases in collaborative planning and engagement in more negative relational frames. Actor–partner interdependence models with repeated measures indicated differing effects on participant perception and outsider observations of the variables. Results provide support for RTT's relatively untested propositions, suggest potential gender differences among different gender dating partners' experiences, and reiterate the complexity of relational communication among dating partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social goals are increasingly seen as motivational factors for youth sports participation and can strongly motivate participation and engagement, not only in structured sports contexts but also in physical education (PE), given the opportunities for social interaction with peers and the presence of skills like communication, cooperation, and competition within groups. The Social Motivational Orientations in Sport Scale (SMOSS) measures three types of social goals in sports participation: affiliation, status, and recognition. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the SMOSS for the Portuguese context, using a sample of 460 PE students (14–19 years old, 58.9% female). The confirmatory factor analysis results supported the three-factor model (affiliation, recognition, and status), after excluding two items. This adapted 13-item SMOSS demonstrated invariance across genders and showed good internal consistency across its three dimensions. It also exhibited convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. These findings indicate that the Portuguese version of the SMOSS is a valid and reliable instrument. It is now well suited for use by schools, teachers, and psychologists to effectively assess PE students' social goals. Additionally, the SMOSS can assist in evaluating intervention programs aimed at enhancing students' social motivation, thus contributing to more effective educational and developmental strategies in PE settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interactional roles of smile and laughter have been widely explored in both institutional settings and mundane talk (e.g. Holt 2016; Potter and Hepburn 2010). However, the role of one specific kind of smile, what we call a 'squeezed-mouth smile' (SMS), remains unexamined. Using CA, this study explores one teacher's use of SMS in response to student turns, and how it is used to mitigate disaffiliation when treating a student response as inappropriate or transgressive. Four sample extracts out of 15-case collection are presented and analysed. The use of SMS enables her to manage a potentially delicate interactional moment by treating the student turn as inappropriate but without admonishment or discouraging further participation. Analysis also suggests, however, that SMS may be insufficient in enabling her to elicit the target response and realign interactional trajectory, allowing students to continue transgressive responses. Thus, SMS works in conjunction with verbal responses, which together identify (1) that, and why, the turn is considered inappropriate and (2) the form of the desired response. Overall, this study contributes to research on practices available to teachers in managing alignment and affiliation in classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both participation and argumentation (OECD, 2022) are important keywords in educational contexts. While participation is seen as a crucial prerequisite for education and collaborative learning in general, argumentation as a discursive practice serves to convey and negotiate—also school-specific—knowledge. This paper explores repetition in argumentative events as a technique of establishing—or even hindering—participation in terms of alignment and affiliation. It can serve as a strategy for participation by signalling responsiveness and thematic coherence—and thus inclusion. At the same time, however, studies show that repetition can also signal contradiction and rejection—and thus exclusion. So far, we know little about how exactly these functional differences are produced—especially in younger children. Therefore, the paper explores how children use repetition as a resource for negotiating participation in argumentative events. Using authentic data in the form of observations and transcriptions of audio and video recordings from child-child-interactions of 15 Hebrew- and 31 German-speaking children aged 3–6 years, we identify oral argumentative events and investigate different forms of repetitions and their respective relevance for enabling participation. Our results show that, on the one hand, minimal and partial repetitions are used by the children in an inclusive way, creating closeness between the participants. On the other hand, children use complete repetitions more as an excluding technique, displaying misalignment and disaffiliation, in order to challenge and mock each other. The findings suggest that this line of research has significant potential to provide new insights into the formation of social relationships between peers, into the prevention or establishment of participation, which itself is a prerequisite for joint learning, as well as insights into the acquisition of argumentative competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article scrutinizes how speakers in multi-party conversations on visual art use the Swedish connective för att 'because' in conjunction with their embodied behavior to elaborate on their prior contributions that have not received sufficient uptake by their recipients. The present multimodal interactional analysis demonstrates that the general interactional motivations for the use of turn-expanding practices with för att are to manage not fully affiliating responses or a complete lack of uptake. The connective för att operates discursively and marks the upcoming talk as an explanation of some sort. The för att -prefaced contribution serves as a justification and a warrant for a first action, as well as elaborating on or merely reformulating it. The speakers also signal with embodied cues that they are prepared to elaborate on their first contribution. After having deployed depicting or pointing gestures during their first contribution, the speakers do not retract to a full embodied rest position, but halt in an intermediate body position alongside or directly after the syntactic completion of the first contribution. Thus, the speakers treat the transition space multimodally as optional slots for further talk, depending on the recipiency that the initial contribution accomplishes. • The Swedish connective för att 'because' can initiate a turn continuation. • The connective för att marks the upcoming talk as an explanation of some sort. • This för att -prefaced contribution secures sufficient uptake and sequence progression. • Speakers treat the transition space multimodally as optional for further talk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the rate of self‐directed behavior—a proxy for social tension—offer valuable insights into individuals' experiences of social interactions. Many studies have tested the tension‐reduction hypothesis, whereby grooming is expected to reduce social tension in the grooming partners. However, it is still unclear whether responses to grooming are affected by social factors such as an individual's role or social relationship with their partner, and whether responses are similar for females and males. Focussing on same‐sex grooming in Yakushima Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui), we analyzed the effects of two social factors on the change in the rate of self‐scratching after receiving grooming: sitting in contact with their partner outside of grooming contexts (as a measure of relationship strength) and rank distance. We collected 10‐min postgrooming and matched‐control focal samples on recipients of grooming. After controlling for postinhibitory rebound effects, grooming reduced scratching in females (suggesting that grooming was relaxing for the receiver), but not in males. In females, this reduction was associated with increased sitting in contact and increased rank distance: being groomed was more tension‐reducing if the grooming partners spent time together outside of grooming contexts, or if their difference in rank was greater and therefore more conspicuous. The reduction effect was mediated by sitting in contact only when females had a higher‐ranking—that is, more dominant and potentially aggressive—groomer. Our findings suggest that not all grooming interactions are perceived as equal, which has implications for its use as an index of relationship quality. To our knowledge, this represents the first study of postgrooming social tension in male Japanese macaques and our results highlight the need for caution when generalizing findings from only one sex to the species level. Research Highlights: Being groomed by a same‐sex partner reduced social tension in female—but not in male—Japanese macaques.This reduction was greater for partners who spent more time sitting in contact— specifically after grooming from higher‐ranking partners—and were further apart in rank.Our findings highlight the importance of including both sexes and accounting for social factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Social Motivational Orientations in Sport Scale (SMOSS), developed by Allen [(2003). Social motivation in youth sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25(4), 551–567; (2005). Measuring social motivational orientations in sport: An examination of the construct validity of the SMOSS. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(2), 147–161], to measure social goals in sport, has only been tested among late adolescent and adult samples and in either the physical education or sport setting. The purpose of this study was to extend the utility of the SMOSS scale by examining social goals in a sample of underrepresented early adolescents, and for physical activity more broadly. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated the SMOSS was effective for measuring/identifying distinct social goal orientations for physical activity in this sample of youth and replicated Allen's [(2005). Measuring social motivational orientations in sport: An examination of the construct validity of the SMOSS. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 3(2), 147–161] three-factor model: affiliation, recognition, and status. The three-factor model demonstrated adequate concurrent and predictive validity. Findings suggest that affiliation goals for physical activity are inversely related to early adolescents' peer and emotional problems, but recognition and status goals have mixed effects on youth appearance-related motivations to engage in physical activity, peer problems, emotional problems, and prosocial behaviour. This study provides evidence that the SMOSS adequately measures social goals among a sample of underrepresented early adolescents and across physical activity contexts. Findings demonstrate that social goals for physical activity during early adolescence are similar to those observed in late adolescence and adulthood. Future social goal research should involve translating results into tangible aspects of intervention development to help promote physical activity and other positive outcomes in youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an intercultural modern art form, web-based ink and wash cartoons are significant tools to communicate cultural identities in the Chinese context because of their entertaining form, thought-provoking content, and profound cultural connotation. Against this background, the present study investigates the multimodal appraisal systems of 96 web-based ink and wash cartoons, focusing on attitudinal meanings and explicating how the attitudinal resources contribute to the communication of Chinese cultural identities. The analysis of 96 web-based ink and wash cartoons shows that the cultural identities of the Chinese dream, Confucianism, collectivism, and optimism are communicated through the interplay between visual and verbal semiotic resources. The analytical results reveal a series of generic features of the web-based ink and wash cartoons that contribute to the promotion of cultural identities, including the popular theme, minimalist style, positive attitude prosody, and the use of culture-specific metaphor and ideation. These features underpin the strategies for promoting Chinese cultural identities and the shift in national branding policy. The study hopes to provide clues for government, social institutions, and individuals to promote cultural identities effectively through social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research delves into the world of conversation analysis, focusing on the unique conversational agent, Lenny. In contrast to most modern AI-based chatbots, Lenny employs a minimalistic approach, utilizing pre-recorded turns to engage with unsolicited callers and extend interactions. The study aims to dissect how Lenny's long turns contribute to displaying 'his' personhood. By analyzing Lenny's long turn in interaction, we uncover how it consolidates Lenny's relatable character. Through analysis of a corpus of recorded interactions, the paper highlights the role of turn design in simulating human-like interactions. Ultimately, this research offers insights into the interplay between scripted content and human understanding in live conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Currently, there is a tendency of steady decline in the value of ethnic identity in the self-consciousness of young people. The assessment and study of the dynamics of ethnic self-awareness are related to the need for a comprehensive approach to the problem of patriotism development of modern Russian youth. The purpose of this article is to analyze the ethnic self-consciousness and ethnic attitudes among Russian youth enrolled in humanities degree programmes at the National Research Mordovia State University. Materials and Methods. 150 junior students took part in the empirical research. The following methods were used: the 16PF questionnaire by R. Cattell (form C), the “Types of Ethnic Identity” method by G. U. Soldatova and S. V. Ryzhova, the Method for assessing the positivity and uncertainty of ethnic identity by A. N. Tatarko, N. M. Lebedeva, ethnic affiliation questionnaire by G. U. Soldatova, S. V. Ryzhova. The authors used methods of correlation and factor analysis. Results. The study revealed a high level of positive ethnic identity in the majority of Russian students. The greater part of students have an average level of ethnic identity. The results of correlation analysis showed the presence of significant relationships between types of ethnic identity and ethnic attitudes. As a result of factor analysis, five groups of factors reflecting the relationship between types of ethnic identity and personal qualities of students were identified. Discussion and Conclusion. The authorsʼ findings contribute to the study of the problem of ethnic identity and its relationship with ethnic attitudes and personality traits of Russian students. The materials of the article can be useful for specialists in the field of ethnic psychology to study and develop studentsʼ deep understanding of their own ethnic identity.

Background: Prosocial behaviours – acts that benefit others – are of crucial importance for many species including humans. However, adolescents with conduct problems (CP), unlike their typically developing (TD) peers, demonstrate markedly reduced engagement in prosocial behaviours. This pattern is particularly pronounced in adolescents with CP and high levels of callous‐unemotional traits (CP/HCU) who are at increased risk of developing psychopathy in adulthood. While a substantial amount of research has investigated the cognitive‐affective mechanisms thought to underlie antisocial behaviour, much less is known about the mechanisms that could explain reduced prosocial behaviours in adolescents with CP. Methods: Here we examined the willingness to exert effort to benefit oneself (self) and another person (other, prosocial condition) in children with CP/HCU, CP and lower levels of CU traits (CP/LCU) and their TD peers. The task captured both prosocial choices, and actual effort exerted following prosocial choices, in adolescent boys aged 11–16 (27 CP/HCU; 34 CP/LCU; 33 TD). We used computational modelling to reveal the mechanistic processes involved when choosing prosocial acts. Results: We found that both CP/HCU and CP/LCU groups were more averse to initiating effortful prosocial acts than TD adolescents – both at a cognitive and at a behavioural level. Strikingly, even if they chose to initiate a prosocial act, the CP/HCU group exerted less effort following this prosocial choice than other groups. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that reduced exertion of effort to benefit others may be an important factor that differentiates adolescents with CP/HCU from their peers with CP/LCU. They offer new insights into what might drive low prosocial behaviour in adolescents with CP, including vulnerabilities that may particularly characterise those with high levels of CU traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that increased income inequality between individuals will reduce social affiliation within dyadic interactions. In three experiments, we examined the effects of income inequality on key indices of affiliation using semi-structured interactions. In the first two experiments, a participant and confederate were randomly assigned to a low- or high-power role and compensated mildly or extremely unequally. In Experiment 3, inequality and inequity were orthogonally manipulated to determine whether inequality's social consequences are moderated by the fairness of the income distribution. We demonstrated that greater inequality produced more negative emotional responses, reduced desire for closeness, and harsher evaluations of one's partner, regardless of one's power role and the equitability of the income distribution. We also obtained evidence that greater inequality reduces behavioral warmth, although this effect was less consistent. Our results begin to unpack the psychological processes through which income inequality worsens societal well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration is an early emerging component of successful cooperative relations that produces a cascade of positive social preferences between collaborators. Concurrently, robust preferences for affiliated others may restrict these benefits to in-group peers. We investigated how in-group affiliation (based on minimal group markers) and interpersonal affiliation (based on shared preferences) influence children's collaborative partner choice. We asked whether children prefer to collaborate with affiliated peers and if highlighting interpersonal affiliation with out-group members reduce in-group bias in partner choice. In Study 1, we assigned children (4–9 years, N = 124, 62 female, two nonbinary) to either a group or interpersonal affiliation condition and gave them a choice of collaborating with either an affiliated (in-group or same preference) or unaffiliated (out-group or different preference) peer. While children preferred affiliated peers in both conditions, interpersonal affiliation had a greater influence than group affiliation on collaborative partner choice among younger participants. With age, the difference between children's preference for affiliated peers in the interpersonal and group affiliation condition declined until they were similar in middle childhood. In Study 2, we assessed whether shared preferences would override in-group bias when these factors were directly contrasted. Children (4–9 years, N = 62, 33 female) chose between an in-group/different preference or out-group/same preferences peer. Younger children preferred the out-group/same preference peer, a preference that diminished with age to chance levels in middle childhood. These findings suggest that affiliation is an important determinant of collaborative partner choice and that shared preferences can override in-group bias in children's collaborative partner choice. Public Significance Statement: In-group prejudice is a barrier to cooperation with significant real-world consequences. It has long been hypothesized that collaboration between groups may be a way of mitigating in-group bias and encouraging cooperation. The current studies reveal that while children prefer to collaborate with in-group peers, highlighting shared preferences may be a way of encouraging collaboration with out-group peers, particularly in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because senescence impairs the ability of older males to compete successfully for mates, male reproductive strategies are expected to change with age. The terminal investment hypothesis proposes that older males, who could die soon, should take greater risks to obtain mating opportunities. Another possibility is that older males avoid such risks, adopting alternative reproductive tactics, such as increased affiliation with females, increased reliance on coalitions or sexual coercion to continue to compete with younger animals. We tested these hypotheses in wild chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii , of the Kanyawara community, Kibale National Park, Uganda, where old males sire offspring at relatively high rates. Our data set included >40 000 incidents of male aggression and >5800 copulations observed between 2005 and 2017. We found that, even as their dominance status declined, old males maintained relatively high copulation rates, especially with established mothers. There was no evidence for terminal investment in response to ageing. Males became generally less aggressive as they aged. Neither did old males form affiliative bonds with females, nor use sexual coercion more frequently, as alternative reproductive tactics. Old males did, however, participate in coalitionary aggression at higher rates than young males and increased the proportion of their aggression that was coalitionary over time. Coalitions were positively associated with mating success, particularly for low- and middle-ranking males. These results support the hypothesis that ageing male chimpanzees use coalitions as an alternative reproductive tactic. The lack of evidence for terminal investment in response to ageing appears to reflect a broader mammalian pattern in which males who rely on fighting to secure mating opportunities avoid excessive risk taking as their formidability wanes. • Old male chimpanzees mated frequently with attractive females. • Old males were less aggressive and did not take greater risks in mating competition. • Old males did not groom females at high rates. • Old males were not more sexually coercive towards females. • Old males formed coalitions at high rates and these predicted mating success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical accounts of narcissism emphasize the dynamic shifting of self-states in response to social feedback. Status threats are thought to set narcissism's dynamics in motion. Naturalistic ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies have characterized dynamics of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability in relation to perceptions of the interpersonal environment. Experimental studies have emphasized the behavioral responses of narcissistic individuals to putative threats to status. Naturalistic and experimental studies suffer from opposing limitations, namely, a potential for confounding variables to impact results versus ambiguous generalizability to real-life and longer time scales, respectively. Integrating naturalistic and experimental studies has the potential to provide a comprehensive model of how dynamics within narcissism unfold in response to status threat. The present study examined shifts in grandiosity and vulnerability in both naturalistic EMA and experimentally controlled (rigged tournament game) social interactions (N = 437). Grandiosity decreased and vulnerability increased in response to both naturalistic and experimental status threats. Further, the same people who responded with decreased grandiosity in response to status threat in daily life responded with similar decreases in grandiosity to experimental defeat. Trait narcissistic agency amplified many of the observed links between narcissism and status threat experimentally and naturalistically. Given that warmth (in addition to dominance) emerged as an important predictor of shifts in narcissism, implications for status-threatening environments are discussed. The present study elucidates important differences with respect to expressions of grandiosity and vulnerability across naturalistic and experimental methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In The New Religious Intolerance, Martha Nussbaum addresses rising intolerance and fear of difference in contemporary societies. She suggests overcoming these issues through ethical consistency, equality, and the cultivation of sympathetic imagination. Nussbaum views this imaginative engagement as a form of civic friendship essential for societal transformation. However, we argue that her concept of civic friendship is problematic. First, Nussbaum's criteria do not suffice to define friendship. Second, this thin concept of civic friendship is unlikely to achieve the societal transformation Nussbaum envisions. We propose developing a more substantive account of civic friendship. This paper aims to create an Aristotelian account of civic friendship within a capabilitarian framework compatible with contemporary, plural societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personae identification and understanding the social bonds shared in online interactions are found to be key to combating misinformation and conspiratorial discourse as well as aiding in developing solutions for specific communities. The 2021 Oting massacre in Nagaland that killed 14 civilians sparked public outrage and widespread protests calling for justice and the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in northeast India. The massacre received a lot of attention, including YouTube videos, and reignited discussion on militarization, Naga identity and a backlash over the botched operation. A close qualitative analysis of 500 randomly extracted comments from 10 selected YouTube videos identified 15 personae with unique linguistic patterns that reveal specific ideational targets and their affiliation strategies in the discourse. A sentiment analysis of 11,294 comments shows a higher negative score linked to condemnation, hate speech and conspiracy than a positive score linked to solidarity and empathy. 'Nagaism' as being a Naga is reimagined and reinforced via YouTube, countering misconceptions about Naga identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primates live in a variety of social groupings and vary in the expression of species-typical behaviors depending upon social conditions. Coppery titi monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus) are pair-bonding, territorial primates often used to study neurobiology and social behavior in captivity at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC). At the center, titi monkeys are housed in cages of standardized size. However, the number of cages--and thus families--per room varies based upon the room size (small or large). Anecdotal evidence suggests titi monkeys behave differently in the two different room sizes. To empirically test this, we measured rates of pair-bonding related affiliation in 23 pairs of titi monkeys. We predicted that monkeys in small rooms would show higher rates of affiliation compared to large rooms. We used a between- and within- subjects design in which all subjects moved from either small to large or large to small rooms. Affiliative behavior was recorded via bihourly instantaneous scan samples. We found that titi monkey pairs affiliated significantly more in small rooms compared to large rooms (partial R2 = 0.1468, t(33) = -3.729, p-value < .0005). We also confirmed that the presence of offspring negatively impacts pair affiliation rates (partial R2 = 0.2240, t(33) = -0.181, p-value = 0.0011). The results of this study suggest that titi monkey pair behavior is influenced by room size, and thus the number of neighboring groups. Management decisions should consider the implications that housing may have on the results of social behavior research.

Background Good communication is consistently recognised as essential for effective complaint handling, while failures in communication correlate with risk of escalation. Nonetheless, communication in National Health Service complaint handling remains underexamined. Objectives To examine complainants’ lived experience of the complaints journey through (1) micro-analysis of their communication with National Health Service representatives; (2) their self-reported expectations and experiences throughout the complaints journey; to survey patient perceptions of the culture of the National Health Service; to develop ‘Real Complaints’ – an evidence-based communication training resource. Design The project triangulates microlevel conversation analysis and discourse analysis of spoken and written complaints encounters with complainants’ appraisals of those encounters in longitudinal case studies. This is underpinned by an audit of patient views of the cultural–institutional context of the National Health Service. Setting and participants Data were gathered in the complaints-handling services of two National Health Service trusts and a Patient Advocacy Service in Northern Ireland. Twenty-three complainants consented to longitudinal data collection and 58 to initial encounter recording; 115 members of the Patient Advocacy Service mailing list completed the cultural audit; 3 trust complaint handlers, 1 Patient Advocacy Service complaint handler and 2 trust complaints managers were interviewed. Data sources This yielded 1155 minutes of recorded calls, 113 written encounters, 36 diaries, 6 meetings, 23 interviews and 115 cultural audit responses collected over a period of 24 months. Results Our analysis illuminates the dual nature of complaints: as personal expressions of dissatisfaction and as systemic critiques. The complaint experience is a dynamic journey with evolving narratives reflecting complainants’ shifting perceptions, expectations and experiences of the ‘system’, both moment-by-moment and encounter-by-encounter in the overall journey. Key interpersonal priorities for complainants significantly affected complaint outcomes, most important of which was the need to be respected as a ‘reasonable complainant’. Also key is the conversation analytic concept of affiliation, which involves taking a stance towards the event(s) being described that matches the complainant’s stance. Use of affiliation by call handlers supported effective and efficient person-centred complaints handling, while absence of affiliation typically led to escalation of the scope, scale and emotional intensity of the complaint, sometimes to the point of an expressed intention to litigate (particularly in the case of written responses). Viewed holistically, successful complaints communication requires person-centredness, and affiliative interactions framed by shared expectations. These findings were applied in the development of Real Complaints Training and Guidance for spoken and written complaints communication. Limitations The COVID pandemic significantly constrained trust participation, particularly the participation of front-line clinical staff, and one trust introduced ‘telephone resolution’ to which we were not given access. Additionally, calls viewed by staff as ‘challenging’ and ethnic minority communities are both under-represented in the final data set. Conclusions Addressing the complainant’s desire to be perceived as reasonable was revealed as crucial for fostering a more person-centred approach to handling complaints and addressing the gap between expectations and experience. This finding holds particular significance for recommendations, guidance and training relating to both spoken and written communication. Future work Direct extensions of the project include the piloting and evaluation of Real Complaints Training and further primary research involving communication between complainants and front-line service/clinical staff and complaint handling by ombudsman complaints investigators. An emerging question relates to social exclusion and access to complaints procedures. Study registration This study is registered as Research Registry: researchregistry5049. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR127367) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research Vol. 12, No. 33. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information. Plain language summary The aim of this project was to make the experience of complaining to the National Health Service better for patients and their families and improve the outcomes for the National Health Service. Complaints can be positive for the National Health Service because they help improve services for other patients. However, if a complaint escalates, it could be costly for the National Health Service and stressful for the patient. We analysed phone calls and letters between the National Health Service and patients or their family. Some patients took part in the study over a long period of time: from when their complaint was lodged until it was complete. We also used online diaries and interviews to analyse how this communication affected the hopes and expectations of the patient throughout the complaints journey. Our research found that people making complaints have particular needs: to be listened to, to tell their whole story (including how the bad experience has impacted on their lives), to be treated as reasonable and for their complaint to be taken seriously. If they feel that these needs are not being met, the complaint often becomes more serious; the patient may even talk about pursuing legal action. We observed that call handlers can use communication skills to ensure that patients feel listened to and taken seriously when they make a complaint. We also found that receiving written responses to their complaint (often at the end of the complaint journey) is when patients feel most dissatisfied. We identified which responses to a complaint are viewed negatively (avoiding blame, insincere apologies) and which are viewed positively (accepting responsibility, recognising the impact of the events). Our findings were then used to develop training materials using real examples from our data. This will help complaint handlers reflect on how their communication impacts on patients making complaints and will lead to a better experience of the complaints process. Scientific summary Background Effective complaint handling is vital to a safe, high-quality healthcare system, yet recent reports still highlight major failings with the current complaints system in the NHS. While effective complaint handling is recognised as contributing to quality improvement and patient safety, poor complaint outcomes lead to litigation, at significant cost to the individual complainant, the complained-about healthcare staff and the NHS as an organisation. The strongest predictor of litigation, however, is not medical error or patient demographics but dissatisfaction with communication, either within the clinical encounter or subsequently in the complaint-handling process. A challenge in addressing litigation rates is therefore to develop effective communication interventions for healthcare complaints handling. NHS complaints policies, however, focus mostly on systems and procedures and prioritise administrative and quantitative key performance indicators over qualitative outcomes relating to complainant experience and quality improvement. A recent systematic review points to a recognised need for patient-centric ways of responding to complaints in order to improve complainant satisfaction, in relation to both the formal written response and the spoken communication skills of complaint handlers (CHs), and to a lack of training resources to meet this need. However, although relevant communication goals for improved complaint handling are frequently identified (e.g. apology, empathy, understanding), they are often not met because there is insufficient understanding of how to achieve those goals when responding to a complaint. Observational analysis of moments of interactional contact has been neglected in previous attempts to reform the complaints process and is likely to improve our understanding of the components of good and poor communicative practice. The primary aim of this study was thus to focus the analytical lens on the lived experience of complainants going through NHS complaints procedures, using the observational methods of conversation analysis (CA) and discourse analysis (DA) to examine in detail the language used in encounters (both spoken and written) between complainants and NHS staff in order to understand how to meet the recognised need for patient-centric, comprehensive and bespoke ways of responding. Objectives Our study thus aimed to address the following research question: How can the power of language be harnessed to transform complainants’ experience of complaining in the NHS and reduce their recourse to litigation? This was addressed through six research objectives: to examine complainants’ lived experience of interacting with the ‘system’ through detailed micro-analysis of direct communications, both spoken and written, with NHS representatives to audit patients’ perceptions of cultural bias in NHS contexts and show how this may create patterns of social relations that can help or hinder effective complaint resolution to record self-reported expectations and experiences of the complaints journey and its timeline, focusing on evolving perceptions of the complaints experience and the complained-about issue, and the impact of the process on complainant well-being and satisfaction to identify and cross-reference moments of change and key drivers of change in complainants’ responses and intentions (including intentions to litigate) throughout their complaints journey to develop an evidence-based ‘Real Complaints’ communication training resource to provide effective, evidence-based intervention that addresses the specific interactional and interpersonal challenges of NHS complaints handling to disseminate good-practice recommendations to service users, NHS staff, local and national policy-makers and ombudsmen that will improve NHS complaint-handling processes and experiences. Methods Our study developed an innovative mixed-methods design with multiple data sets. The wider institutional culture of the NHS was examined using a cultural audit tool to assess service-user perceptions of the institutional context within which complaints take place. The core of the project was the microanalysis of language-in-use in both spoken and written communication between complainants and the NHS Trusts and a parallel analysis of participants’ subjective reflections on their complaint journey, both during and after that journey. This mixed data approach constitutes a detailed, contextualised examination of the relationship between complainants’ observable complaint-handling experiences and their personal, evolving perspective on both the complaint issue(s) and the complaints process. Data The project was conducted across three data-collection sites: complaints services from two Health and Social Care Northern Ireland Trusts and one Patient Advocacy Service providing support to patients making a complaint. The cultural audit generated 115 service-user responses providing data on the degree of congruence/dissonance between patient expectations and experience in the NHS. For the other data strands, a total of 80 active complainants were recruited, of whom 23 consented to longitudinal participation. The observational data comprised recorded phone calls, meetings or written correspondence (letters and e-mails). These data were structured in two key data sets: initial encounters (by telephone or by e-mail) and longitudinal case studies which followed individual complainants through their entire complaint journey. The observational data in the longitudinal case studies were complemented by a parallel qualitative data set of participant diaries and semistructured interviews with each of the longitudinal participants in order to cross-reference the findings of the observational analysis with participant appraisal of their complaints experience. This yielded a data set of 23 complaint journeys and 86 phone calls (1155 minutes), 113 written communications and 6 recorded meetings as well as 36 participant diaries, 23 interviews and 115 cultural audit responses collected over a period of 24 months. Analysis The initial cultural audit provided a baseline view of the wider organisational culture within the NHS. It applied a validated measurement tool to assess the relative influence of cultural perspectives on four key aspects of respondents’ relational expectations and experiences within the NHS: ‘courtesy and respect’; ‘how knowledge is valued’; ‘how fairness and equity issues are resolved’; and ‘how voice is expressed’. In this way, the cultural audit provided insights into the sociopolitical context of the patient–healthcare provider relationship within which these complaint journeys were taking place. Given the focus on communication, the application of CA to the spoken (mostly telephone) interactions between complainants and CHs provides the central focus of the project. CA is a form of observational research that studies in fine-grained detail how participants in conversation methodically display their understanding of each other’s turns at talk and how those understandings are negotiated in interaction. CA thus involves turn-by-turn analysis of communication practices in context to understand what matters to speakers moment-by-moment in the interaction and to reveal the impact of particular language choices on the ongoing conversation. In this way the ‘next turn proof procedure’ of CA reveals the effectiveness (or otherwise) of individual interactional practices to provide a robust evidence base for the development of bespoke communication training resources based on real interactions. Similarly, DA is a linguistic approach to the analysis of written texts, which focuses on the meanings, intentions, ideologies and consequences of particular language choices by the writer, and views discourse as a form of social action or practice. The written communication in our observational data set was analysed focusing on choices in grammar, word choice and pragmatic meaning (what is implied or presupposed), to provide an empirically grounded account of good and poor communication. The analysis of the observational data in each of our longitudinal case studies was supplemented by detailed thematic analysis of participant diaries and interview data for a more holistic account of the key factors both within cases and between cases. An iterative process of open coding, informed by the findings from the cultural audit and the microanalysis of the observational data, was applied across all data sources for each individual journey to uncover central themes and detect inconsistencies across various sources. These themes were subsequently categorised into two primary axes, ‘process’ and ‘c-concepts’ (causes, consequences, correlations, constraints), for the analysis of longitudinal case studies. The cumulative effects of multiple encounters in an overall complaint journey were examined to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the personal and the systemic. Results Our longitudinal analysis illuminates the dual nature of complaints: as personal expressions of dissatisfaction with care experiences and as systemic critiques. Understanding this duality – complaint and care – is vital to improving the complaint-resolution process by ensuring both the validation of individual lived experiences and effective systemic response. Complaining is experienced as a dynamic journey with evolving narratives reflecting complainants’ shifting perceptions, expectations and experiences of the ‘system’. Each interaction within the journey moulds these perceptions and future expectations, hence the paramount importance lies in improving individual instances and enhancing connectivity throughout the complaint journey, as each next encounter can ‘overwrite’ the effects of the previous. Written responses, in particular, were often noted to have the greatest negative impact on the overall evaluation of the journey by not acknowledging accountability, providing insincere apologies, using obscure medical jargon, undermining complainants’ accounts of events and detailing irrelevant patient histories. These longitudinal findings were also reflected in the analysis of the cultural-institutional context (cultural audit), which found significant gaps between patient expectations and experience around assessment of the ‘system’ as overly hierarchical and insufficiently egalitarian, as well as lacking in recognition of individuality, leading to expressions of fatalism in patient expectations. Across all data sets, complainants convey three key interrelated interpersonal priorities which are evident in how they communicate their complaint and the expectations they place on call-handler responses. Complainants want to tell their story in full; they present their complaints not as a collection of facts, but as a detailed narrative which stresses the impact of their story on their daily lives. Relatedly, complainants want to feel that they have been listened to and that their perspective (including the lifeworld impact of the complained-about event) has been fully recognised. Finally and most significantly, complainants seek ratification of the reasonableness of their complaint and/or of their identity as a reasonable complainant. The CA concept of affiliation (designing responses to display recognition and validation of the stance expressed by the other speaker) was identified as a key conversational skill required to meet complainants’ interpersonal priorities in the moment-by-moment communication of a complaints encounter. Specific forms of affiliation and cues for affiliation emerged as important for effective and efficient complaints handling. A key finding, for example, was that affiliation specifically to the ‘reasonableness’ of a complainant could be deployed to negotiate explicit blaming without agreeing or disagreeing with the blame. Crucially, our interactional analysis also showed that the absence of relevant forms of affiliation typically led to escalation of the scope, scale and emotional intensity of the complaint. Similarly, the absence of affiliation and ratification in written responses was found to lead to dissatisfaction with the complaint and, in some cases, escalation to the Ombudsman or to legal redress. The Real Complaints Training package was developed around the research findings relating to the significant role of specific forms of affiliation for healthcare complaints handling. The training package is composed of a number of modules which address a series of skills: ways of listening, identifying complainant cues, using affiliation to meet complainants’ needs and negotiating the expression of explicit blame. Several training design workshops and evaluation workshops were held with complaint-handling teams to refine the training design and ensure useability and accessibility. A key outcome of those workshops was the flexible modular design of the training resources that ensures that the materials can be adjusted to meet training needs and accommodate practical constraints on delivery. The design also ensures that the training can be adapted to complement existing training approaches. Additionally, guidance on how to compose written responses to complaints, what to include, what to avoid, and ideal ways of ensuring that the complainant feels their complaint has been listened to and taken seriously are included in this report. Conclusions Our study found that the highest priority for complainants is to be seen as reasonable complainants and for their complaint to be seen as ‘reasonable’ and legitimate. At a more systemic level, complainants seek concrete and measurable change and reform as validation of the reasonableness of their complaint. Addressing the gaps between complainants’ expectation and experience requires a more person-centred approach in which the complainant’s perspective and reasoning are reflected and the lifeworld impact of their complaint is demonstrably understood. Current practice is variable but where dissatisfaction with the complaint process is expressed, it is usually related to a perception that the complaint has not been adequately affiliated to. Affiliation in various forms (affiliation to emotion, to complainability and to reason) demonstrates that the CH is aligned with the objectives of the complainant and willing to address the complaint’s detail and complexity. Our research has led to the development of guidance and training that will assist complaint-handling staff in navigating these interactions. This offers strategies to validate the complainant’s experiences and emotions, while also maintaining professionalism and fairness throughout the process. By adopting a person-centred approach that acknowledges and supports the complainant’s need to be seen as reasonable, organisations can enhance complainant satisfaction, contributing to a more constructive and collaborative relationship between NHS and patient. Study registration This study is registered as Research Registry: researchregistry5049 IRAS 266628. Funding This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR127367) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 33. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Similarity of behaviors or attributes is often used to infer social affiliation and prosociality. Does this reflect reasoning using a simple expectation of homophily, or more complex reasoning about shared utility? We addressed this question by examining the inferences children make from similar choices when this similarity does or does not cause competition over a zero-sum resource. Four- to six-year-olds (N = 204) saw two vignettes, each featuring three characters (a target plus two others) choosing between two types of resources. In all stories, each character expressed a preference: one 'other' chose the same resource as the target, while a second 'other' chose the different resource. In one condition there were enough resources for all the characters; in the other condition, one type of resource was limited, with only one available (inducing potential competition between the target and the similar-choice other). Children then judged which of the two 'other' characters was being nicer (prosocial judgment) and which of the two was more preferred by the target (affiliative inference). When resources were limited (vs. unlimited), children were less likely to select the similar other as being nice. Children's initial tendency to report that the target preferred the similar other was also eliminated in the limited resource scenario. These findings show that children's reasoning about similarity is not wholly based on homophily. Instead, by reasoning about shared utility - how each person values the goals of others - children engage in flexible inferences regarding whether others' similar preferences and behaviors have positive or negative social meaning.

Play fighting has been one of the most intensely studied forms of play and so has provided some of our deepest insights into the understanding of play in general. As the label implies, this behavior resembles serious fighting, in that the animals compete for an advantage over one another, but unlike true aggression, for play fighting to remain playful, it also incorporates a degree of cooperation and reciprocity - restrained competition seems to be its hallmark. Despite these common features, it should be noted that both the advantage competed over and the mechanisms by which restraint is achieved varies across species. Such variation mitigates simple generalities. For example, how empirical support for a proposed adaptive function in one species not being replicated in another, is to be interpreted. What has emerged over the past few decades is that play fighting is diverse, varying across several dimensions, some superficial, some fundamental, making choosing species to compare a challenge. In this paper,we explore various design features that constitute play fighting and the ways these can be modified across different species and lineages of species. Given that a major pillar of ethology is that description precedes explanation, having a good grasp of the behavioral diversity of play fighting is an essential starting point for detailed analyses of the mechanisms and functions of play. We show that commonalities across species likely involve different mechanisms than do species idiosyncrasies, and that different styles of play fighting likely afford different adaptive opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: Resilience is a complex process of adaptation to new conditions that would permit a positive outcome after adversities, traumas or other sources of stress. However, despite the growing interest in this topic, there is no universally accepted definition and no comprehensive bio-behavioural model. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of the main biological models that have been theorized to date, with a focus on new alternative theories to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development and strengthening of resilience, with potential implications for the prevention of some psychopathological disorders. Method: This review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines and includes 185 studies published in English in PubMed and Embase up to December 2023. Results: Most studies use the stress-related model, which conceptualizes resilience as the absence of symptoms after the stressful event and mainly deal with the differences between stress-prone and resilient phenotypes in animals exposed to stress. However, the results of this search seem to suggest that resilience might be an independent construct with biological bases rooted in the stress system and the social brain, and widely sculptured by individual and environmental factors, especially early life events and affiliation. Conclusions: This work contributes to ongoing efforts to understand the intricate mechanisms of resilience, while highlighting the potential of improving social relationships since our birth to promote coping strategies towards stress and traumas, and even a peaceful world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social interactions are fundamental properties of gregarious species, helping to establish dominance hierarchies and maintain social bonds within groups. Cattle, Bos taurus , are social ungulates which engage in affiliative and agonistic relationships with other individuals. Although there are approximately 1.5 billion cattle on the planet, the opportunity to research cattle behaviour in free-ranging groups is rare, as there are few feral populations worldwide. Cattle engage in positive social behaviours such as allogrooming, where one individual licks the body of another. The relationship between affiliative behaviours and other individual characteristics (such as sex and dominance status) are frequently studied in other gregarious species, but are largely undetermined in cattle. To investigate the relationships between sex, dominance status and allogrooming, we observed a mixed-sex feral cattle herd in Hong Kong, recording dominance interactions and allogrooming events. The hierarchy was linear and stable, consisting of 22 adult males and 33 adult females. We found that dominant females received more allogrooming than subordinate females, but subordinate females did not perform it more. Males performed allogrooming more towards females than other males, but females groomed both sexes equally. Sex affected dominance position, with males obtaining higher status than females, but not all females were subordinate to males. These preferential allogrooming patterns improve our knowledge of sex-specific interactions and help us to understand the dynamics of agonistic and affiliative behaviours in multimale, multifemale ungulate groups. Studying a free-ranging feral population provides us with a unique insight into ungulate behavioural patterns and the evolution of cattle social behaviours. • Cattle are social ungulates that engage in affiliative and agonistic behaviours. • Feral cattle present a novel opportunity to study free-ranging cattle behaviour. • Sex affected dominance status, and both affected allogrooming performance. • High-ranking animals received more allogrooming and exchanged preferential grooming. • Results aid our understanding of cattle sociality, dominance and positive welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals differ in the tendency to derive pleasure out of motive-specific incentives, such as being socially included or attaining power. Multiple theoretical approaches have proposed that such motive-specific positive affective contingencies (PACs) are central building blocks of motive dispositions and personality more broadly. In the current research, we put this claim to test and investigated individual differences with regard to motive-specific PACs in the affiliation and power domains. We measured PACs via spontaneous emotional reactions to motive-specific cues, as assessed by affect ratings and electromyographic (EMG) recordings of smile responses. Both of these PAC operationalizations were highly internally consistent and moderately to highly stable across time. Furthermore, motive-specific PACs were linked in a manner consistent with theory to measures of motive dispositions and to personality traits with motivational underpinnings (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, and narcissism). Finally, in the affiliation domain, motive-specific PACs were linked to objectively assessed, key motivational outcomes (i.e., attentional orientation, behavior in daily life, and in the laboratory). Taken together, the findings underscore the relevance of affective contingencies for the understanding of personality and motivated behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the need-threat model, we hypothesized that "warmth rejection" threatens belongingness more than "competence rejection," whereas competence rejection threatens sense of efficacy more than warmth rejection. To restore threatened belongingness, warmth (vs. competence) rejection was predicted to result in higher affiliative responses. In contrast, to restore the threatened sense of efficacy, competence (vs. warmth) rejection would lead to higher self-focus. Across six studies, we found that the participants exhibited more affiliative responses after being rejected due to low warmth than due to low competence (Studies 1–6), whereas they became more self-focused after being rejected due to low competence than due to low warmth (Studies 3–6). Furthermore, the effect of warmth rejection on affiliation was mediated by perceived threat to belongingness (Studies 4–6), whereas the effect of competence rejection on self-focus was mediated by perceived threat to control and belongingness (Studies 4–6). The studies provided converging evidence that the effects of social rejection depend on the perception of why rejection occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The twenty-eight item Sense of Online Community Scale was completed by 293 online students at a midsized southeastern United States university to ascertain community importance and activities associated with its formation and maintenance on the program and institutional level. A large majority of these students believed that a sense of community was important and that a sense of belonging, affiliation, and trust were valuable for community formation. Participants also believed that program and institutional activities, both academic and social, played key roles in community formation. However, academic activities (e.g., advising, program milestones, writing centers, library support) were rated as more influential than social activities (e.g., get-togethers, online games, institution sporting events). When demographic characteristics were considered, non-White participants rated their sense of affiliation with their program/institution higher than White participants. Participants who lived within a one-hour commute to campus (51% of our sample) rated institutional social activities higher than those who lived farther out. Doctoral students rated program activities as more conducive to community formation than masters, and graduate certificate students and undergraduate students rated affiliation to their program/institution higher than master’s and graduate certificate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on positive psychological outcomes of tourism has experienced exponential growth. However, a critical dimension of tourist wellbeing, affiliation, remains underexplored and conceptually underdeveloped. This study draws on 26 in‐depth interviews with international tourists to Fiji to explore the influence of affiliation with nature and social connectedness on tourist wellbeing. Findings demonstrate the integral role of travel companionship, tourist affiliation with nature and connection with local people as critical determinants of positive psychological outcomes. An integrative model across the domains of gaze, practice and reflection is developed to demonstrate how affiliation with nature and social connectedness influence tourist wellbeing. Future research should explore the multi‐sensual character and the therapeutic potential of tourist social encounters and interactions with nature and subsequent implications for tourist wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The research in this paper was adapted to provide insight into the expectations, prejudices, and openness of higher education students of the University of Prishtina to the inclusion of literary material in the teaching/learning of English and French as a second foreign language (FL2). Simultaneously, as the modern and technologically developed world requires, the paper deals with the opinion on the contribution of appealing teaching material and technology aids in the acceptance of literary works (LWs) in foreign language learning (FLL). Purpose: Apart from some excerpts in the course books, LW inclusion in foreign language learning (FLL) is almost non-existent in the Kosovo education system. Through this study, we concurrently aim to raise the awareness of the students of the advantages that literary works can bring into the foreign language classroom incurring learner-centred teaching/learning, progression of critical thinking and judgment skills as well as sharing experiences and opinions through non-linear and more spontaneous manner. Method: In this study, 69 respondents are freshmen at the University of Prishtina (UP), Faculty of Philology who are mainly future teachers of foreign languages and elected English and French language as their FL2. The method used in this paper consists of quantitative and qualitative approaches aiming for a more thorough analysis through the SPSS statistical computer program and descriptive statistics. Conclusion: The findings revealed that the students have a positive approach to the merge of LWs and foreign language learning, less through printed LWs and more through digitized literature. Hence, applying the merging of literature with language, in the new pedagogical practices and English/French language curricula can be optimistic expectations. Significance: The significance of the study lies in the fact that this under-investigated issue can help in creating insight into the current condition in FL classrooms and help FL curriculum changes in the Kosovo middle and upper high schools as well as higher education FL course curriculum. This study raises hope for merging language and literature in FL classrooms.

Coppery titi monkeys maintain pair bonds through affiliative behaviours (e.g. tail twining, maintaining social proximity). Findings from previous studies suggest that the amount of time pairs spend in affiliative contact is not stable over time within pairs and differs across pairs. The present study investigates several predictors (temperament, age at pairing, pregnancy status and presence of infant) that may help explain observed changes in affiliation over time and between pairs. We hypothesized that affiliation varies for individual dyads and that time-varying and dyad level predictors explain variability in affiliation. We analysed pair affiliation using scan samples collected five times per day for 1 year for 29 pairs. We used Bayesian nonlinear mixed-effects effects modelling to test the effects of predictors. Pregnancy predicted higher affiliation levels (ϒ02 = 0.40, 95% highest posterior density interval (HPDI): [0.21, 0.58]). The presence of an infant and aggression did not predict variability in affiliation. Models would not converge when we included age at pairing, so we cannot draw conclusions about the role of age in affiliation. Findings from this study suggest that time-varying predictors like pregnancy status help explain the large degree of variability observed in affiliative interactions between partners in this species. It is possible that hormonal changes associated with pregnancy are driving changes in affiliative behaviours in pairs. An alternative explanation is that pairs that are more affiliative to begin with are more likely to get pregnant. Future studies will assess whether these patterns persist in subsequent pairings.

This paper examines the role played by leaders figures from the Moroccan diaspora as potential instruments of legitimation for the Moroccan state and traditional elites, not just on an international scale and among the Moroccan communities living abroad, but also on a domestic level. Through the case study of specific events that happened to two prominent figures from the Moroccan community in Spain – rapper and songwriter Morad and football player Achraf Hakimi – in 2022, it analyses the legitimation strategies – cooption or coercion – that the Moroccan state employs to ensure that the stance taken in terms of politics and identity, as well as the cultural production, of leaders figures from the diaspora are aligned with its interests and principles at all times.

Social goals are increasingly seen as motivational factors for youth sports participation and can strongly motivate participation and engagement, not only in structured sports contexts but also in physical education (PE), given the opportunities for social interaction with peers and the presence of skills like communication, cooperation, and competition within groups. The Social Motivational Orientations in Sport Scale (SMOSS) measures three types of social goals in sports participation: affiliation, status, and recognition. The current study aimed to adapt and validate the SMOSS for the Portuguese context, using a sample of 460 PE students (14–19 years old, 58.9% female). The confirmatory factor analysis results supported the three-factor model (affiliation, recognition, and status), after excluding two items. This adapted 13-item SMOSS demonstrated invariance across genders and showed good internal consistency across its three dimensions. It also exhibited convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. These findings indicate that the Portuguese version of the SMOSS is a valid and reliable instrument. It is now well suited for use by schools, teachers, and psychologists to effectively assess PE students’ social goals. Additionally, the SMOSS can assist in evaluating intervention programs aimed at enhancing students’ social motivation, thus contributing to more effective educational and developmental strategies in PE settings.