scholarly journals The Role of Affectionate Caregiver Touch in Early Neurodevelopment and Parent–Infant Interactional Synchrony

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Carozza ◽  
Victoria Leong

Though rarely included in studies of parent–infant interactions, affectionate touch plays a unique and vital role in infant development. Previous studies in human and rodent models have established that early and consistent affectionate touch from a caregiver confers wide-ranging and holistic benefits for infant psychosocial and neurophysiological development. We begin with an introduction to the neurophysiological pathways for the positive effects of touch. Then, we provide a brief review of how affectionate touch tunes the development of infant somatosensory, autonomic (stress regulation), and immune systems. Affective touch also plays a foundational role in the establishment of social affiliative bonds and early psychosocial behavior. These touch-related bonding effects are known to be mediated primarily by the oxytocin system, but touch also activates mesocorticolimbic dopamine and endogenous opioid systems which aid the development of social cognitive processes such as social learning and reward processing. We conclude by proposing a unique role for affectionate touch as an essential pathway to establishing and maintaining parent-infant interactional synchrony at behavioral and neural levels. The limitations of the current understanding of affectionate touch in infant development point to fruitful avenues for future research.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Carozza ◽  
Victoria Leong

Though rarely included in studies of parent-infant interactions, affectionate touch plays a unique and vital role in infant development. Previous studies in human and rodent models have established that early and consistent affectionate touch from a caregiver confers wide-ranging and holistic benefits for infant psychosocial and neurophysiological development. We begin by providing a brief review of how affectionate touch tunes the development of infant somatosensory, autonomic (stress regulation) and immune systems. Affective touch also plays a foundational role in the establishment of social affiliative bonds and early psychosocial behavior. These touch-related bonding effects are known to be mediated primarily by the oxytocin system, but touch also activates mesocorticolimbic dopamine and endogenous opioid systems which aid the development of social cognitive processes such as social learning and reward processing. We conclude by proposing a unique role for affectionate touch as an essential pathway to establishing and maintaining parent-infant interactional synchrony at behavioural, physiological and neural levels. The limitations of the current understanding of affectionate touch in infant development point to fruitful avenues for future research.


Physiology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Hoffmann ◽  
IH Jonsdottir ◽  
P Thoren

Many positive effects of exercise have been ascribed to the exercise-induced activation of endogenous opioid systems. The hypothesis that different opioid peptides and receptors are involved in the cardiovascular, behavioral, and analgesic responses and that opioid-mediated effects of muscle exercise are triggered by activation of mechanosensitive muscle nerve afferents is reviewed.


Author(s):  
Özlem Ayaz Arda ◽  
Bora Yıldız

The researches have mainly examined some negative consequences of careerism. Despite the importance of negative behaviors that will be harmful for organizations' wellbeing, studies regarding these behaviors' predictors are interestingly limited. This chapter proposes that careerism, as one of negative employee orientations, may play a predictor role in assessing social loafing behaviors in light of social cognitive theory. Grounded in social exchange theory, the authors also propose that transformational leadership may have a reducing effect on the careerism-social loafing behaviors. While the positive effects of transformational leadership have been worked extensively in the extant literature, its effects in diminishing the negative organizational orientations and behaviors remain relatively rare. Hence, the proposed model would create new possible avenues for future research.


2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Neber ◽  
Kurt A. Heller

Summary The German Pupils Academy (Deutsche Schüler-Akademie) is a summer-school program for highly gifted secondary-school students. Three types of program evaluation were conducted. Input evaluation confirmed the participants as intellectually highly gifted students who are intrinsically motivated and interested to attend the courses offered at the summer school. Process evaluation focused on the courses attended by the participants as the most important component of the program. Accordingly, the instructional approaches meet the needs of highly gifted students for self-regulated and discovery oriented learning. The product or impact evaluation was based on a multivariate social-cognitive framework. The findings indicate that the program contributes to promoting motivational and cognitive prerequisites for transforming giftedness into excellent performances. To some extent, the positive effects on students' self-efficacy and self-regulatory strategies are due to qualities of the learning environments established by the courses.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas James Rowark

Depression has been associated with poor social cognitive functioning, including impaired performance on measures of theory of mind. However, the association between depression and theory of mind performance has been removed when controlling for differences in executive functioning, which is also impacted by depression. Among these executive functions, inhibition of prepotent response has been demonstrated as enabling success on theory of mind tests. In the context of these findings, the current investigation tested whether a relationship could be found between depressive traits and theory of mind in a non-clinical sample, and whether this relationship was mediated by differences in executive control of inhibition. Theory of mind was assessed in 31 healthy individuals using an audio-presented false-belief reasoning task, which also tested baseline performance in non-mental-state reasoning. Inhibition of prepotent response was assessed with interference measures on a Stroop colour-word task, and depressive traits were self-reported through the second version of the Beck Depression Inventory. Mediation analysis revealed that executive control of inhibition did not significantly mediate an indirect effect of depressive traits on theory of mind. It was interpreted that relationships previously found between major depression, executive and social-cognitive functions do not generalise beyond clinical boundaries. However, these findings are discussed in terms of the small sample size, limiting statistical power, and several methodological limitations. Future research should assess the relationship between depressive traits and theory of mind using alternative measures of mental representation, or include a neurocognitive battery assessing executive functions other than inhibition.


Author(s):  
Dale H. Schunk ◽  
Ellen L. Usher

Social cognitive theory is a theory of human behavior that emphasizes learning from the social environment. This chapter focuses on Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which postulates reciprocal interactions among personal, behavioral, and social/environmental factors. Persons use various vicarious, symbolic, and self-regulatory processes as they strive to develop a sense of agency in their lives. Key motivational processes are goals and self-evaluations of progress, outcome expectations, values, social comparisons, and self-efficacy. People set goals and evaluate their goal progress. The perception of progress sustains self-efficacy and motivation. Individuals act in accordance with their values and strive for outcomes they desire. Social comparisons with others provide further information on their learning and goal attainment. Self-efficacy is a critical influence on motivation and affects task choices, effort, persistence, and achievement. Recommendations are made for future research.


Author(s):  
Ronald E. Rice ◽  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Jordana Blejmar

We conclude the Handbook of Digital Technology and Society by identifying topics that appear in multiple chapters, are more unique to some chapters, and that represent general themes across the material. Each of these is considered separately for the ESRC theme chapters and the non-ESRC chapters. In the ESRC theme chapters, cross-cutting research topics include digital divides and inequalities; data and digital literacy; governance, regulation, and legislation; and the roles and impacts of major platforms. Cross-cutting challenges include methods; theory development, testing, and evaluation; ethics; big data; and multi-platform/holistic studies. Gaps include policy implications, and digital culture. In the non-ESRC chapters, more cross-cutting themes include future research and methods; technology venues; relationships; content and creation; culture and everyday life; theory; and societal effects. More unique, these were digitization of self; managing digital experience; names for the digital/social era; ethics; user groups; civic issues; health, and positive effects. The chapter also shows how the non-ESRC chapters may be clustered together based on their shared themes and subthemes, identifying two general themes of more micro and more macro topics. The identification of both more and less common topics and themes can provide the basis for understanding the landscape of prior research, what areas need to be included in ongoing research, and what research areas might benefit from more attention. The chapter ends with some recommendations for such ongoing and future research in the rich, important, and challenging area of digital technology and society.


Author(s):  
Nina Bergdahl ◽  
Melissa Bond

AbstractIt is well-recognised that engagement is critical for learning and school success. Engagement (and disengagement) are, however, also influenced by context. Thus, as digital technologies add complexity to the educational context, they influence classroom leadership, lesson designs and related practices, and thereby engagement. Despite being critical, engagement and disengagement are not well explored concerning these influences, with a lack of research undertaken within socially disadvantaged schools. In this qualitative study, 14 classroom observations were conducted, during five months, in twelve classes in an upper secondary school in Sweden, along with dialogues with teachers (n=12) and students (n=32). The data were analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Identified themes include digital context, teacher leadership, engagement and disengagement. A network of relations between the (dis-)engagement compound and themes is presented. The results identified processes in which engagement shifted into disengagement and vice versa; in particular, that the intention of active learning does not automatically translate to active learning for all students, although teachers employed a higher work pace than did their students. Teacher self-efficacy and awareness of how to manage digital technologies in and outside the classroom was found to play a vital role in facilitating engagement. Understanding the (dis-)engagement compound in blended learning environments is key to inform active and visible learning for future research and supportive organisational structures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-77
Author(s):  
Erin Hurley ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

Co-design empowers people, giving them a voice in social marketing program design; however, approaches have mostly excluded expert knowledge. An abductive approach to co-design allows for inclusion of expert knowledge, providing theoretical guidance while simultaneously investigating user views and ideas extending understanding beyond known effective approaches. We use the seven-step co-design framework and outline how an abductive inference can be applied to co-design. Social cognitive theory constructs were integrated into the seven-step co-design process. The abductive approach to co-design was tested in two co-design sessions involving 40 participants. Findings demonstrate that theory can be successfully integrated into the seven-step co-design process through utilization of theory-mapped activity cards. This article provides guidance on how theory can be incorporated into ideation and insight generation. Limitations and future research recommendations are provided.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016264342198997
Author(s):  
Sojung Jung ◽  
Ciara Ousley ◽  
David McNaughton ◽  
Pamela Wolfe

In this meta-analytic review, we investigated the effects of technology supports on the acquisition of shopping skills for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) between the ages of 5 and 24. Nineteen single-case experimental research studies, presented in 15 research articles, met the current study’s inclusion criteria and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards. An analysis of potential moderators was conducted, and we calculated effect sizes using Tau-U to examine the impact of age, diagnosis, and type of technology on the reported outcomes for the 56 participants. The results from the included studies provide evidence that a wide range of technology interventions had a positive impact on shopping performance. These positive effects were seen for individuals across a wide range of ages and disability types, and for a wide variety of shopping skills. The strongest effect sizes were observed for technologies that provided visual supports rather than just auditory support. We provide an interpretation of the findings, implications of the results, and recommended areas for future research.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document