The social environment compresses the diversity of genetic aberrations into the uniformity of schizophrenia manifestations

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf-Peter Behrendt
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Genetic Aberrations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Active Contribution

Genetically and neurodevelopmentally, there may be a thousand schizophrenias, yet there would be no schizophrenia at all without active contribution from all of us; none – outside the primitive processes that regulate our relationship with one another. In order to understand the nature of schizophrenia as it unfolds relatively uniformly in the social context, we need to depart from an evolutionarily more feasible understanding of society.

scholarly journals Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick A. R. Jones ◽  
Helen C. Spence-Jones ◽  
Mike Webster ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Behavioural Phenotype ◽  
Social Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

scholarly journals Challenging ‘ableism’ and teaching about disability in a social work classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal Shier ◽  
Carole Sinclair ◽  
Lila Gault
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Work Education

Social work programs in Canada teach emerging generalist practitioners about the consequences of oppression in the lives of the clients they work with. More emphasis within social work education could be placed on practical ways of contextualizing forms of oppression as each relates specifically to practice. The following provides a description of the oppression of ‘ableism’, and offers an applied training module to help prepare generalist social workers (i.e. current students or direct practitioners) to work with issues of disability as they emerge in their direct practice with clients. The training module helps to facilitate learning specific to the leading theoretical discussions and the social context of disability within society. Through these discussions students might then become more aware of their role as practitioners in challenging the oppression of ‘ableism’, rather than maintain outdated modes of service delivery and intervention with those people disabled by the social environment.

Individuality and habits in institutional economics

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 791-809
Author(s):  
Heath Spong
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Structure Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIn this paper a sophisticated conception of individuality is developed that extends beyond simple heterogeneity and is consistent with the approach of institutional economics. Studies of human biological and psychological development are used to illustrate the foundations of human individuality and the impact of the social environment on individual development. The link between the social environment and ongoing agential properties is established through the role of habits, which provide some continuity to individual personalities over time and assist them in navigating the social context they inhabit. Reflexivity is established via an agency-structure framework that endows individuals a changeable self-concept and an ability to interpret their relationship to the social context. The coordination of different individuals is explained not simply through reference to institutional structure, but also through the agent-level properties of shared habits. While reducing differences between individuals to one of degrees, shared habits are shown to be particularly important in the context of agent-sensitive institutions. Finally, the potential for different institutional experiences to impact the reflexivity of individuals is explored.

scholarly journals Understanding Critical Information Literacy through Social Epistemology

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Martin I. Nord
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Epistemological Foundation ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
New Models

Critical theoretical approaches to information literacy are an important part of the growing LIS focus on the context of information. This concern for information’s social environment and the awareness of new models of interaction between learners and librarians open the possibility for using social epistemology to better understand information literacy. The concept of social epistemology—the study of the ways in which an individual’s knowledge is shaped by their interactions with the world around them—has long been part of epistemology. However, LIS theorists Margaret Egan and Jesse Shera, who coined the term, intended it to address librarianship specifically. This paper argues that social epistemology is well positioned to strengthen the critical practice of information literacy, based both on the social epistemological characteristics of critical theory and the information literacy aspects of the social epistemology stream in the field of philosophy. A review of the critical theoretical trend in LIS literature on information literacy reveals an already-present social epistemological foundation on which LIS research can build to expand the application of critical theory to information literacy. Placing this literature in conversation with itself illuminates the ways in which engagement with social epistemological concerns is already evolving. This paper then critiques the literature and highlights some concerns. Recognition of these weaknesses in otherwise valuable work alerts us to opportunities for improvement. This paper suggests that future progress will be tied to better understanding of the social context of knowledge.

Data Collection as a Journey

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-147
Author(s):  
Géraldine Bengsch
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Field Site ◽  
Secure Access ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Layered Approach ◽  
Phd Program

The journey approach for data collection may enable the novice researcher to reflect on their data collection processes, and it aims to point to potential creative solutions that can help create a coherent study deeply rooted in its social environment. Fieldwork becomes a part of the project, rather than an isolated element that needs to be done. Through this approach, even a novice researcher can demonstrate connected insights that are not only relevant to the study itself but also the subject of study. A creative, multi-layered approach to resources and created opportunities may help increase the feasibility of a study by reacting to and interacting with the social context of the field. This chapter reflects on the author's data collection progress during her PhD program and invites readers to discover actionable steps that can be used to overcome the inertia due to inability to secure access to a field site.

scholarly journals Individual, but not population asymmetries, are modulated by social environment and genotype in Drosophila melanogaster

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Versace ◽  
Matteo Caffini ◽  
Zach Werkhoven ◽  
Benjamin L. de Bivort
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Position And Orientation ◽  
Female Male Female

AbstractTheory predicts that social interactions can induce an alignment of behavioral asymmetries between individuals (i.e., population-level lateralization), but evidence for this effect is mixed. To understand how interaction with other individuals affects behavioral asymmetries, we systematically manipulated the social environment of Drosophila melanogaster, testing individual flies and dyads (female-male, female-female and male-male pairs). In these social contexts we measured individual and population asymmetries in individual behaviors (circling asymmetry, wing use) and dyadic behaviors (relative position and orientation between two flies) in five different genotypes. We reasoned that if coordination between individuals drives alignment of behavioral asymmetries, greater alignment at the population-level should be observed in social contexts compared to solitary individuals. We observed that the presence of other individuals influenced the behavior and position of flies but had unexpected effects with respect to individual and population asymmetries: individual-level asymmetries were strong and modulated by the social context but population-level asymmetries were mild or absent. Moreover, the strength of individual-level asymmetries differed between strains, but this was not the case for population-level asymmetries. These findings suggest that the degree of social interaction found in Drosophila is insufficient to drive population-level behavioral asymmetries.

scholarly journals The Effect of Social Context on the Mind Perception of Robots

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-234
Author(s):  
Rebecca Butler ◽  
Zoe Pruitt ◽  
Eva Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Mind Perception ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Perception Of Robots ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact

As social robots are increasingly introduced into our everyday lives, an emphasis on improving the human-robot interaction (HRI), particularly through increased mind perception, is necessary. Substantial research has been conducted that demonstrates how manipulations to a robot’s physical appearance or behavior increases mind perception, yet little has been done to examine the effects of the social environment. This study aims to identify the impact of social context on mind perception by comparing mind perception ratings assigned to robots viewed in a human context with those assigned to robots viewed in a robot context. Participants were assigned to one of the two contexts in which they viewed images of 5 control robots with either 15 humans or 15 robots and answered questions that measured the degree to which they ascribed mind to the agents. A t-test comparing the overall average mind ratings of the control robots between contexts showed a significant difference between the two, with the robots in the robot context having a higher average rating than those in the human context. This result demonstrates a need to consider the social context in which the HRI will take place when designing for the best interaction. Considering that most robots in the foreseeable future will be viewed in a human context, this result also calls for additional research on ways to further increase mind perception to combat the negative effect of the most likely social environment.

scholarly journals Female C57BL/6J Mice Show Alcohol-Seeking Behaviour after Withdrawal from Prolonged Alcohol Consumption in the Social Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryna Koskela ◽  
T Petteri Piepponen ◽  
Jaan-Olle Andressoo ◽  
Vootele Võikar ◽  
Mikko Airavaara
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Alcohol Group ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Intermittent Access ◽  
The Social ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
Alcohol Seeking

Abstract Aims Recently we developed a model to study alcohol-seeking behaviour after withdrawal in a social context in female mice. The model raised several questions that we were eager to address to improve methodology. Methods In our model, female mice were group-housed in automated cages with three conditioned (CS+) corners and water in both sides of one separate non-conditioned corner. Water was available with opened doors at all the time of training. We established conditioning by pairing alcohol drinking with light cues. Here, we introduced prolonged access to increasing concentrations of alcohol instead of intermittent access. To study motivation to drink alcohol, we carried out the extinction tests on withdrawal days 1 (WD1) and 10 (WD10). During tests, the light cues were present in conditioned corners, but there was no liquid in the bottles. Results We found that the number of visits and nosepokes in the CS+ corner in the alcohol group was much higher than in the water group. Also, during training, the consumption of alcohol was increasing. In the extinction tests, we found that the number of nosepokes in the CS+ corner increased in the alcohol group on both WD1 and WD10. Conclusions Our study supports that alcohol-seeking behaviour after withdrawal can be modelled and studied in group-housed animals and environments without social isolation.

scholarly journals Male attention allocation depends on social context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby D. Burridge ◽  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Amber M. Makowicz
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Attention Allocation ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Relevant Stimulus ◽  
Stimulus Female ◽  
Amazon Molly ◽  
Poecilia Formosa ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Partners

AbstractAttention, although limited, is a mechanism used to filter large amounts of information and determine what stimuli are most relevant at a particular moment. In dynamic social environments, multiple individuals may play a pivotal role in any given interaction where a male’s attention may be divided between a rival, a current mate, and/or future potential mates. Here, we investigated impacts of the social environment on attention allocation in male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, which are a part of a sexual-unisexual mating system with the Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa. We asked: 1) Does the species of female influence the amount of attention a male allocates to her? And 2) Is a male’s attention towards his mate influenced by different social partners? Males direct more attention toward a stimulus female when she was a conspecific. We also show that males perceive a larger male as a more relevant stimulus to pay attention to than a smaller male, and a conspecific female as a more relevant stimulus compared to a heterospecific female. Our results show differential allocation of attention is dependent upon multiple components of the social environment in which an individual interacts.SignificanceThis study investigates how attention is allocated in males when presented with social distractions. Assuming that attentional capacity is finite, males may face a tradeoff between different cognitive-demanding stimuli, such as rival males and potential future mates, when mating. Here, we show that male attention allocation in both intra- and intersexual interactions is multifaceted and context dependent. This suggests that individuals within the social environment vary in how meaningful (i.e., able to capture attention) they are to males during mating encounters. Understanding how social partners can cause a shift of attention away from a mating opportunity is essential to understanding the influence of the social context on sexual selection.

scholarly journals Perspectiva etnográfica como proposta de metodologia de ensino de sociologia

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Patricia Bandeira de Melo ◽  
Tatiane Oliveira de Carvalho Moura
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Teaching Sociology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultura Popular ◽  
The World ◽  
Teaching Learning

Este artigo apresenta um modelo de mediação didática para o ensino de sociologia. Efetivada em uma escola pública na cidade de São José do Belmonte, Pernambuco, Brasil, a mediação fitou o aprendizado a partir de uma pesquisa de campo feita durante a festa da Cavalgada à Pedra do Reino. Primeiro, os estudantes apropriaram-se dos conceitos de cultura, cultura popular, festa, festa popular e etnografia, e foram a campo para observar, estranhar e refletir acerca do meio do qual fazem parte, registrando suas reflexões em cadernos de campo. Nessa proposta de trabalho de perspectiva etnográfica, os alunos usaram o mundo como laboratório para compreender a sociologia. A mediação didática considerou que os discentes são investigadores críticos, protagonistas do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, na qual a palavra é dada ao educando. Eles usaram o seu contexto de existência para compreender sociologicamente o que já conheciam, mas cujos sentidos eram silenciados na estrutura social.Palavras-chave: Mediação didática; Ensino de sociologia; Perspectiva etnográfica. ABSTRACTThis article presents a didactic mediation model to teaching sociology. This mediation was applied in a public school in São José do Belmonte city, Pernambuco, Brazil, whose aim was the learning through a fieldwork during the Cavalgada à Pedra do Reino Festival. Firstly, students learned concepts as culture, popular culture, festival, popular festival and ethnography, and then they went to the field to observe, defamiliarize and reflect about their social environment, reporting their reflections in ethnographic notebooks. On this ethnographic perspective proposal, students experienced the world as a laboratory, trying to understand sociology. In the didactic mediation, students were considered as critical researchers, protagonists of the teaching-learning process, in which each one has an own narrative. They were immersed in their own social context to understand sociologically what they already knew, but which meanings were restrained in the social structure.Keywords: Didactic mediation; Sociology teaching; Ethnographic perspective

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