The effects of information of the other's cooperative behavior on moral obligation

Although it is expected that a social dilemma is solved by giving people feedback information about others' cooperative behavior, previous studies demonstrated that the information may promote cooperative behavior in some situations but may promote non-cooperative behavior in other situations. The study hypothesize that the feedback information of the others' cooperative behavior promote cooperative behavior for those who feel high obligation to cooperate in a social dilemma situation, such as a problem of bicycle parking behavior on road, but promote defective behavior for those who have low moral obligation. This is because the former people are hypothesized to attribute the cause of other's cooperative behavior to their social and intrinsic motivation, but the latter are hypothesized to attribute it to the egoistic motivation. The data from an experiment (n = 126) supported the hypotheses.     

Emergence of frequency-dependent cooperative strategies in iterated social dilemma: an experimental study

Previous formal work on iterated social dilemma has shown that the strategy prescribing one to cooperate if m or more others cooperated in the previous round and defect otherwise, loses their effectiveness as the group size increases. The only reciprocal strategy formally proved to be effective in an N-person situation is "trigger strategy" (Friedman, 1986). This strategy presumes that people set the threshold for cooperation, m, at its maximum, namely N-1: all members other than self. This study investigated whether people's choice behavior in iterated social dilemma approximated such a strategy. In groups of seven, participants played a social dilemma game repeatedly. They were provided with complete information regarding others' choices in the three preceding rounds, when making a choice in the current round. Results indicated that participants became more reciprocal as the game progressed, responding more sensitively to how many others cooperated in the previous round. Furthermore, the participants used a strategy in the game that were more lenient for reciprocation, with lower threshold for cooperation, than trigger strategy. Implications of current findings and some future directions were discussed.     

Behavior change from defection to cooperation in a social dilemma: a field study of attitude-behavior consistency in campus parking behavior by motorcyclists

Behavior change by persuasive communications in a social dilemma, in which a university tried to persuade students to park their motorcycles in a designated lot in order to resolve noise problems, was studied by a questionnaire. Hayashi's quantification theory III was applied to variables such as subjective norms, beliefs in the effectiveness of one's cooperation, the perception of campus traffic conditions and attitudes toward one's parking behavior. Factor scores obtained were subjected to a cluster analysis, which, within 105 defectors, yielded three subgroups. Contrary to prediction, subgroups were not different in their cooperation ratio examined 10 months later, but tended to be different in their readiness for acceptance of persuasion and in their intention to cooperate in a social dilemma other than parking. Two mechanisms underlying cooperation were revealed: internalization of prosocial norm, and compliance in which cooperation was unaccompanied by correspondent changes in normative beliefs. The Fishbein model was applicable only to change through internalization. A linear assumption in the Fishbein model between evaluative attitude and behavior should be reexamined in its application to a social dilemma.     

Event‐related potentials in response to cheating and cooperation in a social dilemma game

A sequential prisoner's dilemma game was combined with psychophysiological measures to examine the cognitive underpinnings of reciprocal exchange. Participants played four rounds of the game with partners who either cooperated or cheated. In a control condition, the partners’ faces were shown, but no interaction took place. The partners’ behaviors were consistent in the first three rounds of the game, but in the last round some of the partners unexpectedly changed strategies. In the first round of the game, the feedback about a partner's decision elicited a feedback P300, which was more pronounced for cooperation and cheating in comparison to the control condition, but did not vary as a function of feedback valence. In the last round, both the feedback negativity and the feedback P300 were sensitive to expectancy violations. There was no consistent evidence for a negativity bias, that is, enhanced allocation of attention to feedback about another person's cheating in comparison to feedback about another person's cooperation. Instead, participants focused on both positive and negative information, and flexibly adjusted their processing biases to the diagnosticity of the information. This conclusion was corroborated by the ERP correlates of memory retrieval. Successful retrieval of a partner's reputation was associated with an anterior positivity between 400 and 600 ms after face onset. This anterior positivity was more pronounced for both cooperator and cheater faces in comparison to control faces. The results suggest that it is not the negativity of social information, but rather its motivational and behavioral relevance that determines its processing.     

Comparison of the effects of exchange forms on social solidarity

Although social solidarity is an essential component that helps maintaining social order, what produces solidarity and how does it work have not been fully investigated. We conducted an experiment to examine whether experiencing different forms of social exchange produces different levels of solidarity. We compared four forms of social exchange: reciprocal exchange (exchange resources without negotiation), negotiated exchange (with negotiation), pure-generalized exchange (giver can choose who to give) and chain-generalized exchange (giver cannot choose who to give). Two dimensions classify these exchanges: the number of players (two vs. more than two), and involvement of negotiation. Reciprocal and negotiated exchanges occur within dyads, while pure- and chain-generalized exchanges involve three or more players. Only the negotiated exchange involves negotiation process; the other exchanges are purely unilateral giving. Participants played a one-shot social dilemma game (SDG) before and after social exchange session. The more the players cooperated in SDG, the stronger the social solidarity. Results show that the cooperation rate in SDG increased more in the reciprocal, pure- and chain-generalized exchange conditions than that in the negotiated exchange condition, suggesting that social solidarity is facilitated by experiencing social exchange which does not involve negotiation.     

Genetic predisposition to anxiety-related behavior determines coping style, neuroendocrine responses, and neuronal activation during social defeat

Genetic background may influence an individual's susceptibility to, and subsequent coping strategy for, an acute stressor. When exposed to social defeat (SD), rats bred for high (HAB) or low (LAB) trait anxiety, which also differ in depression-like behavior, showed highly divergent passive and active coping behaviors, respectively. HABs spent more time freezing and emitted more ultrasound vocalization calls during SD than LABs, which spent more time rearing and grooming. Although the behavioral data confirmed the prediction that heightened trait anxiety would make rats more prone to experience stress, adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone were secreted to a higher extent in LABs than in HABs. In the latter, Fos expression upon SD was enhanced in the amygdala and hypothalamic areas compared with LABs, whereas it was diminished in prefrontal and brainstem areas.     

High social anxiety and low aggression in Fawn-Hooded rats

The Fawn-Hooded (FH) rat strain, with well-documented changes in their serotonergic and noradrenergic systems, is a putative genetic model for some neuropsychiatric disorders like depression, alcohol abuse, and anxiety. Because social phobia frequently occurs in combination with these disorders and there are no social anxiety-related data in FH rats in the literature, we measured the behavior of FH rats in the social interaction test. In addition, the effects of the anxiogenic Serotonin-2C (5-HT2C) receptor agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP), were studied. Male FH, Wistar (W), and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used in two different test conditions of the social interaction test: the high light, unfamiliar arena, associated with high anxiety, and the low light, familiar arena, associated with low anxiety-like behavior. All social behaviors were markedly diminished in FH rats that suggested higher anxiety in these animals. Total social interaction time was reduced by 60-70% in FH rats compared either to W or SD rats under high light, unfamiliar or low light, familiar conditions, respectively. Aggressive behavior was reduced at least by 85% in FH rats. Locomotor activity and exploratory behavior were only minimally, in most comparisons, not significantly affected in FH rats. Total social interaction time, aggression, and locomotor activity were decreased, and self-grooming increased by m-CPP (0.5 mg/kg, ip) in all three strains. m-CPP decreased total social interaction time thus, caused anxiety most efficiently in FH rats (reduced by 69%, 50%, and 55% in FH, W, and SD rats, respectively), but other effects of the drug were similar in the three strains. Our studies provide evidence that the FH rat strain may be a genetic model of social phobia or other anxiety disorders with impaired social behavior.     

The effects of orbital frontal cortex damage on the modulation of defensive responses by rats in playful and nonplayful social contexts

In a series of 3 experiments on rats, 2 hypotheses were tested: (a) that damage to the orbital frontal cortex (OFC) would alter the socially relevant context for executing defensive responses but not their performance and (b) that damage done to the OFC in early infancy would produce more deficits in social behavior than similar damage occurring in adulthood. Bilateral or unilateral OFC damage in adult males did not impair their ability to defend themselves during play fighting and when protecting their food but did impair their ability to modify the pattern of defense in response to different partners. Rats that sustained bilateral damage at 3 days of age not only had deficits in partner-related modulation of defense but also exhibited hyperactivity in their play. The findings thus supported the proposed hypotheses.     

Effects of environmental change and others' behavior on cooperative behavior and solution preference in social dilemma

This study examined how environmental change and others' behavior affected cooperative behavior and solution preference of the person in social dilemma situation. Participants in two experiments played an "environment game," in which gradual pollution in environment and reduction in profit rate were simulated. Information on behavior of other players was manipulated: in "free rider" condition, one person was an extreme free rider, and the others were cooperative; in "loafing" condition, everyone loafed. In both experiments, "Bad Apple Effect" was not observed clearly, and cooperative behavior increased as environmental pollution worsened. In Experiment 2, there was no main effect of others' behavior on solution preference. However, significant correlations were found among solution preference, motivation to control others' behavior, and perceived seriousness of the situation, only when an extreme free rider was among them.     

Sequential analysis of juvenile isolation-induced decreased social behavior in the adult rat.

The consequences of juvenile isolation on adult social behavior were studied in detail using two different analysis methods: frequency, duration, and latency of behavioral elements, and sequential analysis. Rats were either isolated or socially housed during weeks 4 and 5 of age, and after the isolation period housed in pairs with a rat of identical housing condition until the time of testing at 12 weeks of age. Juvenile isolation caused marked effects on the frequency, duration, and latency of various social behavioral elements, whereas the non-social activities such as ambulation, rearing, and self-grooming were hardly affected. Juvenile isolation reduced social exploration, anogenital sniffing, and approach/following and increased the latency to the first occurrence of these social behavioral elements. In contrast, the sequential analysis revealed that the structure of social behavior was barely affected by juvenile isolation. Some transitions were less pronounced in juvenile isolated rats compared to non-isolated rats, but no significant differences were observed in transitions between social elements. Thus, juvenile isolation bisected the time spent on adult social interactions, whereas it did not disrupt the sequential structure of social behavior. The present data suggest that juvenile isolation reduced the motivation for adult social behavior, but when social contact is initiated, a relatively normal social behavioral pattern is displayed.     

Social cognitive determinants of nutrition and physical activity among web-health users enrolling in an online intervention: the influence of social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulation

Background

The Internet is a trusted source of health information for growing majorities of Web users. The promise of online health interventions will be realized with the development of purely online theory-based programs for Web users that are evaluated for program effectiveness and the application of behavior change theory within the online environment. Little is known, however, about the demographic, behavioral, or psychosocial characteristics of Web-health users who represent potential participants in online health promotion research. Nor do we understand how Web users’ psychosocial characteristics relate to their health behavior—information essential to the development of effective, theory-based online behavior change interventions.

Objective

This study examines the demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics of Web-health users recruited for an online social cognitive theory (SCT)-based nutrition, physical activity, and weight gain prevention intervention, the Web-based Guide to Health (WB-GTH).

Methods

Directed to the WB-GTH site by advertisements through online social and professional networks and through print and online media, participants were screened, consented, and assessed with demographic, physical activity, psychosocial, and food frequency questionnaires online (taking a total of about 1.25 hours); they also kept a 7-day log of daily steps and minutes walked.

Results

From 4700 visits to the site, 963 Web users consented to enroll in the study: 83% (803) were female, participants’ mean age was 44.4 years (SD 11.03 years), 91% (873) were white, and 61% (589) were college graduates; participants’ median annual household income was approximately US $85,000. Participants’ daily step counts were in the low-active range (mean 6485.78, SD 2352.54) and overall dietary levels were poor (total fat g/day, mean 77.79, SD 41.96; percent kcal from fat, mean 36.51, SD 5.92; fiber g/day, mean 17.74, SD 7.35; and fruit and vegetable servings/day, mean 4.03, SD 2.33). The Web-health users had good self-efficacy and outcome expectations for health behavior change; however, they perceived little social support for making these changes and engaged in few self-regulatory behaviors. Consistent with SCT, theoretical models provided good fit to Web-users’ data (root mean square error of the approximation [RMSEA] < .05). Perceived social support and use of self-regulatory behaviors were strong predictors of physical activity and nutrition behavior. Web users’ self-efficacy was also a good predictor of healthier levels of physical activity and dietary fat but not of fiber, fruits, and vegetables. Social support and self-efficacy indirectly predicted behavior through self-regulation, and social support had indirect effects through self-efficacy.

Conclusions

Results suggest Web-health users visiting and ultimately participating in online health interventions may likely be middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class women whose detrimental health behaviors put them at risk of obesity, heart disease, some cancers, and diabetes. The success of Internet physical activity and nutrition interventions may depend on the extent to which they lead users to develop self-efficacy for behavior change, but perhaps as important, the extent to which these interventions help them garner social-support for making changes. Success of these interventions may also depend on the extent to which they provide a platform for setting goals, planning, tracking, and providing feedback on targeted behaviors.     

Social desirability response tendencies in psychiatric inpatient children

This study examined the substantive features of children's social desirability (SD) tendencies that could influence the nature and severity of psychopathology. Examinations of substantive features of SD responding in an inpatient child psychiatry unit (N = 76) suggested that higher scores on the Children's Social Desirability questionnaire were associated strongly with (1) lower mental age; (2) higher scores on self-reported social competence; (3) lower scores on self-reported anger; and (4) lower scores on parent-reported externalization behavioral disturbance. Results were interpreted as suggesting that SD responding for child inpatients may reflect a mixed picture of negative features of cognitive and social immaturity that could affect adversely their ability to judge their own and others' social behavior and of positive features of less external behavioral disturbance and more prosocial attitudes and behaviors.     

Irrational beliefs, perceived availability of social support, and anxiety

Based on the assumption that individual difference factors can influence aspects of the social environment, it was predicted that individuals who exhibit high levels of irrational beliefs would appraise their interpersonal environment as less supportive than would individuals with lower levels of irrational beliefs. The second prediction was that irrational beliefs would be related positively to anxiety. Thirdly, it was expected that perceived social support would be related inversely to anxiety. The final prediction was that deficits in social support among individuals who exhibit irrational beliefs may account, in part, for their relatively high levels of anxiety. Results based on questionnaire data obtained from 39 college students supported all four hypotheses.     

Neuropeptide regulation of social behavior in a monogamous cichlid fish

The nonapeptides arginine vasopressin (AVP; including its non-mammalian homolog arginine vasotocin, AVT) and oxytocin (OT; including its non-mammalian homologs mesotocin, MT, and isotocin, IT) regulate social behavior, including aggression and reproduction, via receptors conserved across vertebrates. In monogamous prairie voles, the vasopressin and oxytocin pathways are crucially important for pair-bond formation, specifically by influencing affiliative behavior toward the mate and aggression toward non-mates. Monogamous social systems are found in diverse taxa. We hypothesized that the AVT/IT pathways are associated with mating behavior in monogamous teleost fishes. We used the monogamous convict cichlid, Amatitlania nigrofasciata, to test this idea. In the first experiment, we treated males with a general nonapeptide receptor antagonist during pair-bond formation. Control males were treated with vehicle. On the first day of treatment we observed a significant reduction in both affiliative behavior toward the potential mate and aggression toward neighbors. However, the antagonist did not prevent the pair-bond from forming and the behavioral effects disappeared on subsequent treatment days. In the second experiment, we administered on three consecutive days the AVP/OT receptor antagonist to males that were in an established pair-bond. In established pairs, male affiliation towards the mate and aggressive behavior towards territorial neighbors were not affected by the antagonist. Our results indicate that the basic social behaviors typically mediated by the AVP/OT pathways may provide the building blocks necessary for monogamous mating behavior.     

The effect of escapable versus inescapable social defeat on conditioned defeat and social recognition in Syrian hamsters

Male Syrian hamsters are naturally aggressive animals that reliably defend their home territory against intruding conspecifics. Hamsters that lose agonistic encounters subsequently exhibit a striking change in their agonistic behavior, however, expressing no aggression and instead becoming highly submissive, a behavioral change that we have termed conditioned defeat. We have generally employed an inescapable defeat training protocol when studying conditioned defeat. The purpose of the present study was to determine if conditioned defeat is an epiphenomenon of the inescapable defeat experience by comparing the behavior of hamsters exposed to inescapable versus escapable defeat. In the conditioned defeat model, defeated hamsters subsequently generalize their submission and social avoidance to a novel, non-aggressive opponent, suggesting that hamsters subjected to inescapable defeat may not form a specific memory of their aggressive opponent. Thus, a secondary purpose of the present study was to determine whether hamsters subjected to our defeat protocol have the ability to recognize a familiar opponent following defeat. Our results provide evidence that conditioned defeat is not solely a by-product of inescapable defeat because all experimental animals, regardless of the type of defeat, expressed conditioned defeat during testing. We also found that animals experiencing an inescapable defeat avoided a familiar aggressor significantly more than they did an unfamiliar aggressor, demonstrating that these animals have the ability to recognize their previous attacker. Thus, we maintain that a variety of social defeat models, and conditioned defeat in particular, represent generalizable and ethologically valid models with which to study the effects of social stress on physiology and behavior.     

Peri-adolescence isolation rearing alters social behavior and nociception in rats

Social isolation results in fundamental behavioral abnormalities in rodents which models certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. However, the developmental stage that is most vulnerable to social isolation is largely unknown. In the present study, we subjected weaning rats to a four-week peri-adolescence isolation rearing (PAIR) and then returned them to social rearing for an additional four weeks until adulthood. Open field locomotion, social interaction behavior, and acute pain sensitivity were examined at different time points. PAIR rats showed moderate hyperactivity towards a novel environment, an anxiogenic-like behavioral profile, and increased aggression and social interaction behavior, the last three of which could be restored by re-socialization procedure. In addition, PAIR animals showed significantly reduced pain sensitivity even after the re-socialization period. In summary, this study advances the use of peri-adolescent isolation rearing as an animal model to study neurodevelopmental manipulation induced behavioral abnormalities.     

Behavioral inhibition and glucocorticoid dynamics in a rodent model

Behavioral inhibition (i.e. avoidance of unfamiliar) has been linked to significant differences in stress physiology and health. Developing an animal model of this common temperament provides a means to experimentally study the development and physiology of this trait as it relates to stress-related health processes. To elaborate such an animal model, we studied individual rat responses to two novel situations that mimic behavioral inhibition tests for humans (one non-social and one social). We measured individual consistency of behavioral responses across tests and time, and examined the relationship between behavior and glucocorticoid levels in outbred Sprague-Dawley male rats. Individuals were consistent in their behavioral responses to the same novel environment over time, but not in their responses across two different environments (i.e. non-social vs. social). A third of males were slow to approach novelty in both arenas (INHIBITED) and another third were fast to approach in both arenas (NON-INHIBITED). Behavioral inhibition was relatively stable across time and was associated with increased glucocorticoid production at baseline and in response to novelty but not during a post-novelty recovery period. Glucocorticoid levels were more closely related to their responses to the social novel arena than the non-social arena. Thus, behavioral inhibition is associated with acute and basal glucocorticoid over production and social inhibition is a more important predictor of adrenal activity than non-social inhibition. These preliminary observations provide strong support for an animal model of human behavioral inhibition and identify specific aspect of glucocorticoid production dynamics to examine in behaviorally inhibited children.     

Chronic stress in dogs subjected to social and spatial restriction. I. Behavioral responses.

Six weeks of social and spatial restriction were used as a model to induce chronic stress in Beagles. Behavioral and physiological measurements were performed during a period of enriched spacious outdoor housing in groups (GH) and during a subsequent period of solitary housing in small indoor kennels (IH). Behavioral parameters that may indicate chronic stress in dogs are reported. During IH, the dogs showed significantly (comparison-wise error rate <0.05) lower postures than during GH. IH induced enduring increments in frequencies of autogrooming, paw lifting, and vocalizing, and was associated with incidents of coprophagy and repetitive behavior. So far, we interpret the behavioral changes as signs of chronic stress. Relatively low levels of walking, digging, intentions to change from one state of locomotion to another, and increments in circling are conceived as obvious adaptations to the specific features of the IH system. By challenging the dogs outside their home kennel we tested whether the dogs' coping abilities were affected by IH. Dogs that were challenged were introduced into a novel environment, given the opportunity to escape from their home kennel, restrained, walked down an unfamiliar corridor, presented a novel object, exposed to loud noise, given food, or confronted with a conspecific. During IH, challenged dogs exhibited higher postures, showed more tail wagging, nosing, circling, urinating, and defecating, and changed more often from one state of locomotion (or posture) to another than during GH. These behavioral changes were observed across the different types of challenges, with the exception of the noise administration test. In the presence of conspecifics, the socially and spatially restricted male dogs behaved more dominantly and aggressive than during the time that they were kept in groups. Such behavior manifested as increased performances of raised hairs, growling, paw laying, and standing over. Both sexes showed increases in paw lifting, body shaking, ambivalent postures, intentions to change from one state of locomotion to another, and trembling in any of the challenges, excluding the walking down the corridor test. In short, during a variety of challenges, socially and spatially restricted dogs exhibited a heightened state of aggression, excitement, and uncertainty. Behavioral differences between dogs that had experienced pleasant and bad weather conditions during GH, suggested that "pleasant-weather individuals" had experienced early stress during the control period, and, as a result, responded to the subsequent period of IH differently. Regardless of the housing conditions, challenged bitches showed stronger indications of acute stress than male dogs. Gender did not affect the chronic stress responses to social and spatial restriction. A low posture and increased auto-grooming, paw lifting, vocalizing, repetitive behavior, and coprophagy may indicate chronic stress in dogs, and as such, can help to identify poor welfare. When challenged, chronically stressed dogs may show increased excitement, aggression, and uncertainty, but the nonspecificity of such emotional behavior will complicate its practical use with regard to the assessment of stress.     

Dissociation of physiology and behavior in PTSD.

We have previously reported that subjects with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) differ from trauma controls in their ability to produce and withhold responses in the Stop-Signal Task depending on the motivational context as determined by financial reward. This experiment measured skin conductance and heart rate to assess autonomic changes accompanying these different patterns of behavior. Fowles hypothesized that heart rate would increase with behavioral activation and that increases in skin conductance would accompany behavioral inhibition. Both PTSD and comparison groups showed the expected behavioral changes in response to rewards, but they differed in their physiological responses. The subjects in the traumatized comparison group showed changes in skin conductance and heart rate consistent with Fowles' hypothesis and the observed changes in behavioral inhibition and activation. However, PTSD subjects showed no significant change in either physiological measure. These results demonstrate a dissociation between autonomic reactivity and motivated behavior in PTSD that may represent one aspect of emotional numbing.     

Neurobiological correlates of social functioning in autism

Although autism is defined by deficits in three areas of functioning (social, communicative, and behavioral), impairments in social interest and restricted behavioral repertoires are central to the disorder. As a result, a detailed understanding of the neurobiological systems subserving social behavior may have implications for prevention, early identification, and intervention for affected families. In this paper, we review a number of potential neurobiological mechanisms—across several levels of analysis—that subserve normative social functioning. These include neural networks, neurotransmitters, and hormone systems. After describing the typical functioning of each system, we review available empirical findings specific to autism. Among the most promising potential mechanisms of social behavioral deficits in autism are those involving neural networks including the amygdala, the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, and the oxytocin system. Particularly compelling are explanatory models that integrate mechanisms across biological systems, such as those linking dopamine and oxytocin with brain regions critical to reward processing.