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Evolutionary Human Sciences 2023Standard approaches to cultural evolution focus on the recipients or consumers. This does not take into account the fitness costs incurred in producing the behaviours or...
Standard approaches to cultural evolution focus on the recipients or consumers. This does not take into account the fitness costs incurred in producing the behaviours or artefacts that become cultural, i.e. widespread in a social group. We argue that cultural evolution models should focus on these fitness costs and benefits of cultural production, particularly in the domain of 'symbolic' culture. In this approach, cultural products can be considered as a part of the extended phenotype of producers, which can affect the fitness of recipients in a positive way (through cooperation) but also in a detrimental way (through manipulation and exploitation). Taking the producers' perspective may help explain the specific features of many kinds of cultural products.
PubMed: 37706214
DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2023.20 -
Current Directions in Psychological... Dec 2017What psychological factors drive the popularity of , which explain important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the psychological...
What psychological factors drive the popularity of , which explain important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the psychological consequences of adopting these theories? We review the current research and find that it answers the first of these questions more thoroughly than the second. Belief in conspiracy theories appears to be driven by motives that can be characterized as epistemic (understanding one's environment), existential (being safe and in control of one's environment), and social (maintaining a positive image of the self and the social group). However, little research has investigated the consequences of conspiracy belief, and to date, this research does not indicate that conspiracy belief fulfills people's motivations. Instead, for many people, conspiracy belief may be more appealing than satisfying. Further research is needed to determine for whom, and under what conditions, conspiracy theories may satisfy key psychological motives.
PubMed: 29276345
DOI: 10.1177/0963721417718261 -
Neuron Aug 2020Social group dynamics are highly complex. In this issue of Neuron, Anpilov et al. use a novel wireless optogenetic device to demonstrate that the repeated stimulation...
Social group dynamics are highly complex. In this issue of Neuron, Anpilov et al. use a novel wireless optogenetic device to demonstrate that the repeated stimulation of oxytocin neurons modulates pro-social and agonistic behaviors in a time- and context-dependent manner.
Topics: Agonistic Behavior; Neurons; Optogenetics; Oxytocin; Social Behavior
PubMed: 32818470
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.07.027 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jul 2012Recent comparative evidence suggests that anthropoid primates are the only vertebrates to exhibit a quantitative relationship between relative brain size and social... (Review)
Review
Recent comparative evidence suggests that anthropoid primates are the only vertebrates to exhibit a quantitative relationship between relative brain size and social group size. In this paper, I attempt to explain this pattern with regard to facial expressivity and social bonding. I hypothesize that facial motor control increases as a secondary consequence of neocortical expansion owing to cortical innervation of the facial motor nucleus. This is supported by new analyses demonstrating correlated evolution between relative neocortex size and relative facial nucleus size. I also hypothesize that increased facial motor control correlates with enhanced emotional expressivity, which provides the opportunity for individuals to better gauge the trustworthiness of group members. This is supported by previous evidence from human psychology, as well as new analyses demonstrating a positive relationship between allogrooming and facial nucleus volume. I suggest new approaches to the study of primate facial expressivity in light of these hypotheses.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Biological Evolution; Brain; Facial Expression; Grooming; Haplorhini; Motor Skills; Organ Size; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Species Specificity
PubMed: 22641828
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0224 -
The Journal of Experimental Biology Jun 2021Adult mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), sounds above the range of human hearing, during social encounters. While mice alter their vocal emissions between...
Adult mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), sounds above the range of human hearing, during social encounters. While mice alter their vocal emissions between isolated and social contexts, technological impediments have hampered our ability to assess how individual mice vocalize in group social settings. We overcame this challenge by implementing an 8-channel microphone array system, allowing us to determine which mouse emitted individual vocalizations across multiple social contexts. This technology, in conjunction with a new approach for extracting and categorizing a complex, full repertoire of vocalizations, facilitated our ability to directly compare how mice modulate their vocal emissions between isolated, dyadic and group social environments. When comparing vocal emission during isolated and social settings, we found that socializing male mice increase the proportion of vocalizations with turning points in frequency modulation and instantaneous jumps in frequency. Moreover, males change the types of vocalizations emitted between social and isolated contexts. In contrast, there was no difference in male vocal emission between dyadic and group social contexts. Female vocal emission, while predominantly absent in isolation, was also similar during dyadic and group interactions. In particular, there were no differences in the proportion of vocalizations with frequency jumps or turning points. Taken together, the findings lay the groundwork necessary for elucidating the stimuli underlying specific features of vocal emission in mice.
Topics: Acoustics; Animals; Female; Male; Mice; Social Behavior; Sound; Ultrasonics; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 34096599
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.239814 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Jun 2018Group living is widespread among animal species, and comes with a number of costs and benefits associated with foraging, predator avoidance and reproduction. It is...
Group living is widespread among animal species, and comes with a number of costs and benefits associated with foraging, predator avoidance and reproduction. It is largely unknown, however, whether individuals sacrifice exposure to their own preferred or optimal environmental conditions so they can remain part of a social group. Here, we demonstrate that individual three-spine sticklebacks vary in the degree to which they forego exposure to their preferred ambient temperature so they can associate with a group of conspecifics. Individual fish varied widely in preferred temperature when tested in isolation. When the same individuals were presented with a choice of a warm or cold thermal regime in the presence of a social group in one of the environments, fish spent more time with the group if it was close to their own individually preferred temperature. When a group was in a relatively cool environment, focal individuals that were more social deviated most strongly from their preferred temperature to associate with the group. Standard and maximum metabolic rate were not related to temperature preference or thermal compromise. However, individuals with a higher standard metabolic rate were less social, and so energetic demand may indirectly influence the environmental costs experienced by group members. The reduced tendency to engage with a social group when there is a large difference between the group temperature and the individual's preferred temperature suggests a role for temperature in group formation and cohesion that is mediated by individual physiology and behaviour. Together, these data highlight exposure to non-preferred temperatures as a potential cost of group membership that probably has important but to date unrecognized implications for metabolic demand, energy allocation, locomotor performance and overall group functioning.
Topics: Animals; Environment; Smegmamorpha; Social Behavior; Temperature
PubMed: 29899078
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0884 -
The British Journal of Developmental... Nov 2011The effects of peer group rejection on 7- and 9-year-old children's (N= 192) reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression were examined in a group simulation study....
The effects of peer group rejection on 7- and 9-year-old children's (N= 192) reactive, displaced, and proactive aggression were examined in a group simulation study. Children were assigned membership in a pretend social group for a drawing competition and were then rejected or accepted by their group. Their direct and indirect aggressive intentions towards either the ingroup or outgroup were assessed. Analysis of their aggressive intentions revealed enhanced indirect aggression but less direct aggression. Peer group rejection, in comparison with acceptance, instigated reactive aggression towards the ingroup, and displaced reactive aggression towards the outgroup. Accepted children displayed proactive aggression towards the outgroup but not the ingroup. The implications of the findings for peer group rejection and aggression research are discussed.
Topics: Age Factors; Aggression; Anger; Child; Child Behavior; Female; Group Processes; Humans; Intention; Male; Peer Group; Rejection, Psychology; Sex Factors; Social Adjustment; Social Behavior; Social Identification; Social Perception
PubMed: 21995740
DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-835X.2010.02012.x -
BJPsych Open Jul 2023There is growing evidence of a beneficial effect of social group processes on well-being and mental health.
BACKGROUND
There is growing evidence of a beneficial effect of social group processes on well-being and mental health.
AIMS
To investigate the role of group membership continuity in reducing mental ill-health among young people who were already vulnerable pre-pandemic, and to understand the social and psychological mechanisms of the benefits of group memberships for vulnerable young people.
METHOD
This study takes a cross-sectional design, using survey data from a sample of 105 young people aged 16-35 years, collected approximately 1 year after the global COVID-19 outbreak (January to July 2021). Correlational and path analyses were used to test the associations between group membership continuity and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, psychotic-like experiences) and the mediation of these associations by hope and social connectedness (in-person and online). To correct for multiple testing, the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was implemented for all analyses. Indirect effects were assessed with coverage of 99% confidence intervals.
RESULTS
Multiple prior group memberships were associated with preservation of group memberships during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person social connectedness, online social connectedness and hope mediated the relationship between group membership continuity and mental health problem symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that clinical and public health practice should support vulnerable young people to foster and maintain their social group memberships, hopefulness and perceived sense of social connectedness as means of helping to prevent exacerbation of symptoms and promote recovery of mental health problems, particularly during significant life events.
PubMed: 37466044
DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2023.500 -
Behavior Research Methods Apr 2023For decades, researchers across the social sciences have sought to document and explain the worldwide variation in social group attitudes (evaluative representations,...
For decades, researchers across the social sciences have sought to document and explain the worldwide variation in social group attitudes (evaluative representations, e.g., young-good/old-bad) and stereotypes (attribute representations, e.g., male-science/female-arts). Indeed, uncovering such country-level variation can provide key insights into questions ranging from how attitudes and stereotypes are clustered across places to why places vary in attitudes and stereotypes (including ecological and social correlates). Here, we introduce the Project Implicit:International (PI:International) dataset that has the potential to propel such research by offering the first cross-country dataset of both implicit (indirectly measured) and explicit (directly measured) attitudes and stereotypes across multiple topics and years. PI:International comprises 2.3 million tests for seven topics (race, sexual orientation, age, body weight, nationality, and skin-tone attitudes, as well as men/women-science/arts stereotypes) using both indirect (Implicit Association Test; IAT) and direct (self-report) measures collected continuously from 2009 to 2019 from 34 countries in each country's native language(s). We show that the IAT data from PI:International have adequate internal consistency (split-half reliability), convergent validity (implicit-explicit correlations), and known groups validity. Given such reliability and validity, we summarize basic descriptive statistics on the overall strength and variability of implicit and explicit attitudes and stereotypes around the world. The PI:International dataset, including both summary data and trial-level data from the IAT, is provided openly to facilitate wide access and novel discoveries on the global nature of implicit and explicit attitudes and stereotypes.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Social Group; Attitude; Self Report; Social Sciences
PubMed: 35650381
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01851-2 -
Individual variation and the source-sink group dynamics of extra-group paternity in a social mammal.Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal... 2019Movement of individuals, or their genes, can influence eco-evolutionary processes in structured populations. We have limited understanding of the extent to which spatial...
Movement of individuals, or their genes, can influence eco-evolutionary processes in structured populations. We have limited understanding of the extent to which spatial behavior varies among groups and individuals within populations. Here, we use genetic pedigree reconstruction in a long-term study of European badgers () to characterize the extent of extra-group paternity, occurring as a consequence of breeding excursions, and to test hypothesized drivers of variation at multiple levels. We jointly estimate parentage and paternity distance (PD; distance between a cub's natal and its father's social group), and test whether population density and sex ratio influence mean annual PD. We also model cub-level PD and extra-group paternity (EGP) to test for variation among social groups and parental individuals. Mean PD varied among years but was not explained by population density or sex ratio. However, cub-level analysis shows strong effects of social group, and parental identities, with some parental individuals being consistently more likely to produce cubs with extra-group partners. Group effects were partially explained by local sex ratio. There was also a strong negative correlation between maternal and paternal social group effects on cub paternity distance, indicating source-sink dynamics. Our analyses of paternity distance and EGP indicate variation in extra-group mating at multiple levels-among years, social groups and individuals. The latter in particular is a phenomenon seldom documented and suggests that gene flow among groups may be disproportionately mediated by a nonrandom subset of adults, emphasizing the importance of the individual in driving eco-evolutionary dynamics.
PubMed: 30971858
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary164