Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Comparative Effects Of Three Virtual Nature Exposure Methods On State Social Motivation: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Samantha A. Castelblanco May 2022

The Comparative Effects Of Three Virtual Nature Exposure Methods On State Social Motivation: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Samantha A. Castelblanco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is well established in the research literature that exposure to nature positively affects physical and mental health. However, research regarding the effects of nature exposure on social health is less developed. Prior research found that watching a video of nature improved state social motivation. Building on this research, the current study compared the effects of three methods of virtual nature exposure on state social motivation in a randomized controlled trial. In this 3X3 between-subjects experiment, participants (N = 426) 18 to 73 (MAge = 27.69, SD = 12.19) were randomly assigned to experience 3-minutes of nature …


Selectivity And Sociality: Aggression And Affiliation Shape Vole Social Relationships, Nicole S. Lee, Annaliese K. Beery Mar 2022

Selectivity And Sociality: Aggression And Affiliation Shape Vole Social Relationships, Nicole S. Lee, Annaliese K. Beery

Psychology: Faculty Publications

The formation of selective social relationships is not a requirement of group living; sociality can be supported by motivation for social interaction in the absence of preferences for specific individuals, and by tolerance in place of social motivation. For species that form selective social relationships, these can be maintained by preference for familiar partners, as well as by avoidance of or aggression toward individuals outside of the social bond. In this review, we explore the roles that aggression, motivation, and tolerance play in the maintenance of selective affiliation. We focus on prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) …


Sex Differences In The Reward Value Of Familiar Mates In Prairie Voles, Daniel M. Vahaba, Emily R. Halstead, Zoe R. Donaldson, Todd H. Ahern, Annaliese K. Beery Mar 2022

Sex Differences In The Reward Value Of Familiar Mates In Prairie Voles, Daniel M. Vahaba, Emily R. Halstead, Zoe R. Donaldson, Todd H. Ahern, Annaliese K. Beery

Psychology: Faculty Publications

The rewarding properties of social interactions facilitate relationship formation and maintenance. Prairie voles are one of the few laboratory species that form selective relationships, manifested as “partner preferences” for familiar partners versus strangers. While both sexes exhibit strong partner preferences, this similarity in outward behavior likely results from sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms. We recently demonstrated that in operant trials, females worked hardest for access to familiar conspecifics of either sex, while males worked equally hard for access to any female, indicating a sex difference in social motivation. As tests were performed with one social target at a time, males might have …


Evaluating The Role Of Social Approach Behaviors In Children With Autism, Jessica M. Weber Apr 2015

Evaluating The Role Of Social Approach Behaviors In Children With Autism, Jessica M. Weber

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with autism show marked impairments in social and communicative behaviors. According to social motivation and social orienting models of autism, decreased social interest leads to less social input and fewer social learning opportunities (Chevallier et al., 2012; Mundy & Neal, 2001). These models suggest that the ability to initiate and participate in social interactions are important factors in language development. Research in this area has focused on the role of joint attention in language development however; the current study takes a broad view of social interest and posits that not only joint attention, but all socially mediated behaviors …


Rat Pup Social Motivation: A Critical Component Of Early Psychological Development, Howard C. Cromwell Dec 2010

Rat Pup Social Motivation: A Critical Component Of Early Psychological Development, Howard C. Cromwell

Howard Casey Cromwell

Examining the role of the offspring in early social dynamics is especially difficult. Human developmental psychology has found infant behavior to be a vital part of the early environmental setting. In the rodent model, the different ways that a rodent neonate or pup can influence social dynamics are not well known. Typically, litters of neonates or pups offer complex social interactions dominated by behavior seemingly initiated and maintained by the primary caregiver (e.g., the dam). Despite this strong role for the caregiver, the young most likely influence the litter dynamics in many powerful ways including communication signals, discrimination abilities and …