The detection of self-group conflicts in exercise behaviors differs with social network centrality: ERP evidence.

BACKGROUND: The influence of social norms on exercise behaviors has been explored in studies over the years. However, little is known about whether an individual's role (central or peripheral) in his or her social network, which is associated with social skills, could shift his or her susceptibility to normative effects on exercise behaviors. To that end, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to examine the underlying cognitive mechanism of the effects of network centrality on normative social influence. METHODS: We manipulated network centrality by assigning participants to exercise support groups, with group members who were their nominated friends (high centrality) or nonnominated classmates (low centrality). Participants were asked to evaluate their willingness to engage in various exercises, after viewing discrepant group ratings (peer influence) or not viewing (no-influence). RESULTS: Peer influence evoked a larger negative-going feedback-related negativity (FRN) wave, which was linked to automatic social conflict detection, and a larger positive-going P3 wave, which was linked to subsequent conformity behavioral changes. However, effects on the FRN, not the P3, were observed only in the high-centrality group. CONCLUSION: Our results highlight the important roles of network centrality in encoding self-group exercise attitude discrepancy rather than in decision-making regarding exercise attitude adjustments. Interventions aimed at promoting exercise behaviors should be considered in a broader social environmental framework.

Individual costs and societal benefits of interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual and societal reactions to an ongoing pandemic can lead to social dilemmas: In some cases, each individual is tempted to not follow an intervention, but for the whole society, it would be best if they did. Now that in most countries, the extent of regulations to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission is very small, interventions are driven by individual decision-making. Assuming that individuals act in their best own interest, we propose a framework in which this situation can be quantified, depending on the protection the intervention provides to a user and to others, the risk of getting infected, and the costs of the intervention. We discuss when a tension between individual and societal benefits arises and which parameter comparisons are important to distinguish between different regimes of intervention use.

Explanatory model of the psychosocial variables related to the social acceptance of a uranium mine project in northwest Spain.

Introduction: The demographic growth and the development of the welfare system have been accompanied by an important social dilemma between preserving nature or promoting energy development by assuming the benefits and risks of both proposals. This research attempts to address this social dilemma by analyzing the psychosocial factors that influence the acceptance or rejection of a new uranium mining development and exploitation project. The main objective was to test an explanatory theoretical model of uranium mining project acceptance, based on the interrelation of sociodemographic variables (e.g., age, gender, economic and educational situation, and level of knowledge about uranium energy) and cognitive variables (e.g., environmental beliefs, risk, and benefit perceptions), along with the activation of an emotional balance in response to the proposal of constructing a uranium mine. Method: Three hundred seventy-one individuals responded to the questionnaire about the variables included in the model. Results: The results showed that older participants showed lower levels of agreement with the mining proposal people, while women and those with greater knowledge of nuclear energy perceived greater risks and had a more negative emotional balance. The proposed explanatory model based on sociodemographic, cognitive, and affective variables showed good fit indices for explaining the assessment of the uranium mine. Thus, age, level of knowledge, risks and benefits, and emotional balance had a direct effect on the acceptance of the mine. Likewise, emotional balance showed a partial mediation effect between the relationships existing between the perception of benefits and risks and the acceptance of the mining proposal. Discussion: The results are discussed based on the consideration of analyzing sociodemographic, cognitive, and affective variables to understand potential conflicts in communities affected by energy projects.

Dinámicas socioculturales y alternativas económicas de mujeres en un contexto de economía minera extractivista

Este artículo describe las dinámicas socioculturales presentes en Puerto Claver, El Bagre, Antioquia, a causa del contexto económico minero. El enfoque fenomenològico permitió un acercamiento a las realidades sociales a partir de la cotidianidad de las personas, de sus experiencias vitales y relatos. Un resultado es que la práctica extractiva de oro, arraigada en el corregimiento como la principal alternativa económica, genera desarraigo frente a otras formas de sobrevivencia, como la cosecha y siembra de alimentos y plantas medicinales, la pesca y la apicultura. Al transformarse las prácticas económicas y productivas, así como la relación con el medio ambiente, cambian también las relaciones sociales, las dinámicas socioculturales preexistentes y el tejido social y comunitario. En este contexto, las asociaciones de mujeres tienen un papel significativo en la resignificación y dinamización de procesos económicos alternativos a la práctica minera, a través de los cuales puedan transformar las relaciones sociales y comunitarias.

This article describes the socio-cultural dynamics present in the village of Puerto Claver, municipality of El Bagre, Antioquia, as a result of the mining economic context. The phenomenological approach allowed an approach to the social realities from the daily life of the people, their life experiences and stories. One result is that the practice of gold mining, rooted in the township as the main economic alternative, generates uprooting compared to other forms of survival, such as harvesting and planting food and medicinal plants, fishing and beekeeping. As economic and productive practices are transformed, as well as the relationship with the environment, social relations, pre-existing socio-cultural dynamics and the social and community fabric also change. In this context, women's associations have a significant role to play in re-signifying and energizing alternative economic processes to mining practices, through which they can transform social and community relations.

Acetylcholine potentiates glutamate transmission from the habenula to the interpeduncular nucleus in losers of social conflict.

Switching behaviors from aggression to submission in losers at the end of conspecific social fighting is essential to avoid serious injury or death. We have previously shown that the experience of defeat induces a loser-specific potentiation in the habenula (Hb)-interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) and show here that this is induced by acetylcholine. Calcium imaging and electrophysiological recording using acute brain slices from winners and losers of fighting behavior in zebrafish revealed that the ventral IPN (vIPN) dominates over the dorsal IPN in the neural response to Hb stimulation in losers. We also show that GluA1 α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunits on the postsynaptic membrane increased in the vIPN of losers. Furthermore, these loser-specific neural properties disappeared in the presence of an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist and, conversely, were induced in brain slices of winners treated with α7 nAChR agonists. These data suggest that acetylcholine released from Hb terminals in the vIPN induces activation of α7 nAChR followed by an increase in postsynaptic membrane GluA1. This results in an increase in active synapses on postsynaptic neurons, resulting in the potentiation of neurotransmissions to the vIPN. This acetylcholine-induced neuromodulation could be the neural foundation for behavioral switching in losers. Our results could increase our understanding of the mechanisms of various mood disorders such as social anxiety disorder and social withdrawal.

Effects of Different-Syllable Aggressive Calls on Food Intake and Gene Expression in Vespertilio sinensis.

Social animals enjoy colony benefits but are also exposed to social stress, which affects their physiology in many ways, including alterations to their energy intake, metabolism, and even gene expression. Aggressive calls are defined as calls emitted during aggressive conflicts between individuals of the same species over resources, such as territory, food, or mates. Aggressive calls produced by animals in different aggressive states indicate different levels of competitive intentions. However, whether aggressive calls produced in different aggressive states exert different physiological effects on animals has yet to be determined. Importantly, bats live in clusters and frequently produce aggressive calls of different syllables, thus providing an ideal model for investigating this question. Here, we conducted playback experiments to investigate the effects of two types of aggressive calls representing different competitive intentions on food intake, body mass, corticosterone (CORT) concentration, and gene expression in Vespertilio sinensis. We found that the playback of both aggressive calls resulted in a significant decrease in food intake and body mass, and bats in the tonal-syllable aggressive-calls (tonal calls) playback group exhibited a more significant decrease when compared to the noisy-syllable aggressive-calls (noisy calls) playback group. Surprisingly, the weight and food intake in the white-noise group decreased the most when compared to before playback. Transcriptome results showed that, when compared to the control and white-noise groups, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in energy and metabolism were detected in the noisy-calls playback group, and DEGs involved in immunity and disease were detected in the tonal-calls playback group. These results suggested that the playback of the two types of aggressive calls differentially affected body mass, food intake, and gene expression in bats. Notably, bat responses to external-noise playback (synthetic white noise) were more pronounced than the playback of the two aggressive calls, suggesting that bats have somewhat adapted to internal aggressive calls. Comparative transcriptome analysis suggested that the playback of the two syllabic aggressive calls disrupted the immune system and increased the risk of disease in bats. This study provides new insight into how animals differ in response to different social stressors and anthropogenic noise.

Common and unique neural mechanisms of social and nonsocial conflict resolving and adaptation.

Humans often need to deal with various forms of information conflicts that arise when they receive inconsistent information. However, it remains unclear how we resolve them and whether the brain may recruit similar or distinct brain mechanisms to process different domains (e.g. social vs. nonsocial) of conflicts. To address this, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and scanned 50 healthy participants when they were asked to perform 2 Stroop tasks with different forms of conflicts: social (i.e. face-gender incongruency) and nonsocial (i.e. color-word incongruency) conflicts. Neuroimaging results revealed that the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex was generally activated in processing incongruent versus congruent stimuli regardless of the task type, serving as a common mechanism for conflict resolving across domains. Notably, trial-based and model-based results jointly demonstrated that the dorsal and rostral medial prefrontal cortices were uniquely engaged in processing social incongruent stimuli, suggesting distinct neural substrates of social conflict resolving and adaptation. The findings uncover that the common but unique brain mechanisms are recruited when humans resolve and adapt to social conflicts.

U.S. Federal Reserve Policies can cause Political instability by raising bread prices.

This note argues that the monetary policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve impact food prices globally and can - by extension - affect the incidence of food riots and broader social conflict. We additionally claim that these impacts are especially likely in the case of commodities with more price-inelastic demand, staple cereals in particular, but less likely in the case of food commodities with more price-elastic demand, such as meats and oil. Using mediation analysis, we find empirical support for the impact of changes to US dollar supply on food riots from 2000-2011. We also find that this relationship extends to broader measures of social conflict (including protests, riots, strikes, etc.). We conclude with a cautionary note about how to interpret these results. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12571-022-01300-0.

Variation between species, populations, groups and individuals in the fitness consequences of out-group conflict.

Out-group conflict is rife in the natural world, occurring from primates to ants. Traditionally, research on this aspect of sociality has focused on the interactions between groups and their conspecific rivals, investigating contest function and characteristics, which group members participate and what determines who wins. In recent years, however, there has been increasing interest in the consequences of out-group conflict. In this review, we first set the scene by outlining the fitness consequences that can arise immediately to contest participants, as well as a broader range of delayed, cumulative and third-party effects of out-group conflict on survival and reproductive success. For the majority of the review, we then focus on variation in these fitness consequences of out-group conflict, describing known examples both between species and between populations, groups and individuals of the same species. Throughout, we suggest possible reasons for the variation, provide examples from a diverse array of taxa, and suggest what is needed to advance this burgeoning area of social evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.

Patterns of sex-biased dispersal are consistent with social and ecological constraints in a group-living cichlid fish.

BACKGROUND: Sex-biased dispersal is a common and widespread phenomenon that can fundamentally shape the genetic structure of the social environments in which animals live. For animals that live in and move between social groups, sex-biased dispersal can result in an asymmetry in the degree of relatedness among cohabiting males and females, which can have strong implications for their social evolution. In this study, we measured the relatedness structure within and across groups of a wild population of Neolamprologus multifasciatus, a highly-social, shell-dwelling cichlid fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. In total, we genotyped 812 fish from 128 social groups at 20 microsatellite loci. Neolamprologus multifasciatus live at high densities, and also experience strong ecological constraints on free movement throughout their habitat. At the same time, they exhibit sex differences in the degree of reproductive competition within their groups and this makes them an excellent model system for studying the factors associated with sex-biased dispersal. RESULTS: Social groups of N. multifasciatus consist of multiple males and females living together. We found that cohabiting females were unrelated to one another (Lynch-Ritland estimates of relatedness = 0.045 ± 0.15, average ± SD), while males shared much higher, albeit variable, levels of relatedness to other males in their groups (0.23 ± 0.27). We uncovered a pronounced decline in relatedness between males living in separate groups as the spatial separation between them increased, a pattern that was not evident in females. Female dispersal was also markedly constrained by the distribution and availability of nearby territories to which they could emigrate. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate female-biased dispersal in N. multifasciatus. Our study also highlights how the spatial distribution of suitable dispersal destinations can influence the movement decisions of animals. We also emphasize how sex-biased dispersal can influence the relatedness structure of the social environment in which individuals interact and compete with one another.

Early Adolescents' Social Goals in Peer Conflict Situations: A Mixed Methods Study.

Identification of goals is a key social-cognitive process that guides whether adolescents engage in aggressive or nonviolent behavior during social conflicts. This study investigated early adolescents' goals in response to hypothetical social conflict situations involving close friends and peers. Participants (n = 160; Mage = 12.7, 53% female) were 7th graders from two urban and one rural middle school. On average, participants identified 2.5 goals for each situation. Qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach identified nine themes representing the goals generated by participants: instrumental-control, relationship maintenance, maintain image and reputation/self-defense, conflict avoidance, seek more information, revenge, tension reduction, moral, and stay out of trouble. Quantitative analysis indicated that female participants identified more goals than male participants, but there were few differences in their types of goals. There were few differences across school sites. The findings highlight the variety of social goals specific to the developmental period of early adolescence.

Teaching Individuals with Autism Problem-Solving Skills for Resolving Social Conflicts.

Resolving social conflicts is a complex skill that involves consideration of the group when selecting conflict solutions. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty resolving social conflicts, yet this skill is important for successful social interaction, maintenance of relationships, and functional integration into society. This study used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to assess the efficacy of a problem-solving training and generalization of problem solving to naturally occurring untrained social conflicts. Three male participants with ASD were taught to use a worksheet as a problem-solving tool using multiple exemplar training, error correction, rules, and reinforcement. The results showed that using the worksheet was successful in bringing about a solution to social conflicts occurring in the natural environment. In addition, the results showed that participants resolved untrained social conflicts in the absence of the worksheet during natural environment probe sessions.

Epidemics, pandemics, and social conflict: Lessons from the past and possible scenarios for COVID-19.

Since COVID-19 broke out, there has been renewed interest in understanding the economic and social dynamics of historical and more recent epidemics and pandemics, from the plagues of Antiquity to modern-day outbreaks like Ebola. These events can have significant impacts on the interplay between poverty and social cohesion, i.e. how different groups in society interact and cooperate to survive and prosper. To that effect, this paper provides a theory-driven overview of how social responses to past epidemics and pandemics were determined by the epidemiological and non-epidemiological characteristics of these outbreaks, with a particular focus on the conditions giving rise to scapegoating and persecution of minority groups, including migrants. We discuss existing theories as well as historical and quantitative studies, and highlight the cases where epidemics and pandemics may lead to milder or more severe forms of scapegoating. Finally, we conclude with a summary of priorities for future research on epidemics, pandemics and social conflict and discuss the possible effects and policy implications of COVID-19.

Political participation of the opposition in Colombia after the 2016 Peace Agreement / Participación política de la oposición en Colombia después del Acuerdo de Paz de 2016 / Participação política da oposição na Colômbia após o Acordo de Paz de 2016

ABSTRACT One of the expectations generated by the Peace Agreement signed in November 2016 between the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP guerrillas was to create the conditions of democratic openness that would allow the conditions for political participation of the opposition. As a working hypothesis it is considered that the Colombian political regime has not provided enough guarantees for the participation and exercise of democracy and that the current government has allowed the conditions of political, social, and armed conflict to be sharpened. The method of analysis adopted is interpretative and inductive, with a focus on the political participation of the opposition in the broad sense. The information obtained was critically analyzed considering the guarantees for the exercise of the opposition, freedom of expression and association and social movements. It was found that social organizations and movements have not achieved significant participation as an opposition and that there is a greater commitment of the now FARC political party to what was agreed in 2016. It is concluded that the Peace Agreement failed to provide enough guarantees for the political participation of the opposition and the exercise of democracy.

RESUMEN Una de las expectativas que generó el Acuerdo de Paz firmado en noviembre de 2016 entre el Gobierno colombiano y la guerrilla de las FARC-EP fue crear las condiciones de apertura democrática que permitan las condiciones para la participación política de la oposición. Como hipótesis de trabajo se considera que el régimen político colombiano no ha brindado suficientes garantías para la participación y el ejercicio de la democracia y que el gobierno actual ha permitido que se agudicen las condiciones del conflicto político, social y armado. El método de análisis adoptado es interpretativo e inductivo, con foco en la participación política de la oposición en sentido amplio. Se analizó críticamente la información obtenida teniendo en cuenta las garantías para el ejercicio de la oposición, libertad de expresión y asociación y movimientos sociales. Se encontró que las organizaciones y los movimientos sociales no han logrado una participación significativa como oposición y que existe un mayor compromiso del ahora partido político FARC con lo acordado en 2016. Se concluye que el Acuerdo de Paz no logró que el régimen político colombiano ofrezca suficientes garantías para la participación política de la oposición y el ejercicio de la democracia.

RESUMO Uma das expectativas geradas pelo Acordo de Paz assinado em novembro de 2016 entre o governo colombiano e a guerrilha das FARC-EP era criar condições para a abertura democrática que permitissem as condições para a participação política da oposição. Como hipótese de trabalho, considera-se que o regime político colombiano não forneceu garantias suficientes para a participação e o exercício da democracia e que o atual governo permitiu que as condições do conflito político, social e armado aumentassem. O método de análise adotado é interpretativo e indutivo, com foco na participação política da oposição em sentido amplo. As informações obtidas foram analisadas criticamente, levando em consideração as garantias para o exercício da oposição, liberdade de expressão e associação e movimentos sociais. Constatou-se que organizações e movimentos sociais não alcançaram participação significativa como oposição e que há um maior compromisso do partido político das FARC com o que foi acordado em 2016. Conclui-se que o Acordo de Paz não alcançou que o regime político colombiano ofereça o suficiente garantias para a participação política da oposição e o exercício da democracia.

Correlation of Expression Changes between Genes Controlling 5-HT Synthesis and Genes Crh and Trh in the Midbrain Raphe Nuclei of Chronically Aggressive and Defeated Male Mice.

Midbrain raphe nuclei (MRNs) contain a large number of serotonergic neurons associated with the regulation of numerous types of psychoemotional states and physiological processes. The aim of this work was to study alterations of the MRN transcriptome in mice with prolonged positive or negative fighting experience and to identify key gene networks associated with the regulation of serotonergic system functioning. Numerous genes underwent alterations of transcription in the MRNs of male mice that either manifested aggression or experienced social defeat in daily agonistic interactions. The expression of the Tph2 gene encoding the rate-limiting enzyme of the serotonin synthesis pathway correlated with the expression of many genes, 31 of which were common between aggressive and defeated mice and were downregulated in the MRNs of mice of both experimental groups. Among these common differentially expressed genes (DEGs), there were genes associated with behavior, learning, memory, and synaptic signaling. These results suggested that, in the MRNs of the mice, the transcriptome changes associated with serotonergic regulation of various processes are similar between the two groups (aggressive and defeated). In the MRNs, more DEGs correlating with Tph2 expression were found in defeated mice than in the winners, which is probably a consequence of deeper Tph2 downregulation in the losers. It was shown for the first time that, in both groups of experimental mice, the changes in the transcription of genes controlling the synthesis and transport of serotonin directly correlate with the expression of genes Crh and Trh, which control the synthesis of corticotrophin- and thyrotropin-releasing hormones. Our findings indicate that CRH and TRH locally produced in MRNs are related to serotonergic regulation of brain processes during a chronic social conflict.

Parental Support and Positive Mood Buffer Adolescents' Academic Motivation During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

School closures during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 severely disrupted adolescents' lives. We used a daily diary method for 20 days, including online and physical school days, assessing daily mood, social support and conflict, and academic motivation in 102 adolescents aged 12-16 years. We found that adolescents' academic motivation was lower on online compared with physical school days. In general, positive mood was positively associated with academic motivation, and friend conflict related negatively to academic motivation. Moreover, lower levels of parental support were related to lower academic motivation on online versus physical school days. Overall, these findings identified some critical changes in adolescents' daily experiences during the COVID-19 school closure and social-emotional factors that may buffer decreases in adolescents' academic motivation.

Jóvenes, multitud y estallido social en Chile / Youth, multitudes and social upheaval in Chile / Jovens, multidões e explosão social no Chile

Resumen (analítico) El 18 de octubre de 2019, miles de jóvenes chilenos salieron a las calles para exigir una sociedad más justa, iniciando un proceso de cambio constitucional y de ciudadanía. Este artículo analiza ese proceso centrándose en las estrategias disruptivas de los y las jóvenes para impugnar los espacios públicos en los primeros meses de protesta. Con esta finalidad, se realizó una etnografía durante diez semanas -octubre a diciembre del 2019--, en las ciudades de Santiago y Valparaíso. Los resultados muestran que estos jóvenes se identifican como parte de una multitud que ha experimentado un despertar ciudadano, exigiendo mayor participación social. Se concluye que este despertar refleja las tendencias sociales de las juventudes de otras partes del mundo, que igualmente disputan y exigen transformaciones sociales en las democracias liberales.

Abstract (analytical) On October 18, 2019 in Chile, thousands of young people flooded the streets to demand a fairer life, representing the start of the construction of a new citizenship. This article analyzes how these young people disputed the control of public spaces in the first months of this social upheaval. An ethnography was carried out for ten weeks between October and December 2019 in the cities of Santiago and Valparaíso, observing and interviewing mobilized young people. The results show that the young people protesting in in the street identify themselves as being part of a social awakening. The Chilean case is discussed as part of a synergy of youth revolts at a global level. The authors conclude that the young people who protest belong to a generation that questions liberal democracies as the dominant form of participation and political action.

Resumo (analítico) Em 18 de outubro de 2019 no Chile, milhares de jovens sitiaram as ruas para exigir uma vida mais justa, começando a construir uma nova cidadania. Este artigo analisa como esses jovens disputaram os espaços públicos nos primeiros meses da 'revolta social'. Foi realizada uma etnografia durante dez semanas - outubro e dezembro de 2019 - nas cidades de Santiago e Valparaíso, observando e entrevistando jovens mobilizados. Os resultados mostram que esses jovens constituem uma multidão nas ruas que os identifica com um despertar social. O caso chileno é discutido como parte de uma sinergia de revoltas juvenis em nível global, e conclui-se que os jovens que protestam pertencem a uma geração que questiona as democracias liberais como forma de participação e ação política.

Who Makes Your Heart Beat? What Makes You Sweat? Social Conflict in Virtual Reality for Educators.

Though educators often deal with stressful social conflicts, many face them ad hoc without much training. We studied if and how virtual agents can help University staff manage student-teacher conflicts. We explored educators' verbal, behavioral, and physiological reactions to a virtual agent that brought up a student-teacher conflict and held exit-interviews. Our qualitative analysis revealed that virtual agents for conflict training were positively received, but not for conflict mediation with cross-cultural differences. Those with non-Western backgrounds felt that an agent could help "save face," whereas Westerners preferred to resolve conflicts in person. In line with this, participants with a Western background rated the virtual agent to be less competent compared to those with non-Western backgrounds. While physiological measures only allow for limited conclusions, we found that participants who believed that the agent was controlled by a human had higher normalized hear rate variability (for the entire conversation in total) than people who thought that the agent was autonomous. We discuss implications for implementing virtual agents for training purposes, the impact of physiological signals, and the need to consider cultural and individual differences.

Microbe Profile: Dictyostelium discoideum: model system for development, chemotaxis and biomedical research.

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a versatile organism that is unusual in alternating between single-celled and multi-celled forms. It possesses highly-developed systems for cell motility and chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and developmental pattern formation. As a soil amoeba growing on microorganisms, it is exposed to many potential pathogens; it thus provides fruitful ways of investigating host-pathogen interactions and is emerging as an influential model for biomedical research.