The Experts below are selected from a list of 22398 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
R I M Dunbar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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laughter influences Social Bonding but not proSocial generosity to friends and strangers
PLOS ONE, 2021Co-Authors: R I M Dunbar, Eiluned Pearce, Anna Frangou, Felix GraingerAbstract:Humans deploy a number of specific behaviours for forming Social bonds, one of which is laughter. However, two questions have not yet been investigated with respect to laughter: (1) Does laughter increase the sense of Bonding to those with whom we laugh? and (2) Does laughter facilitate proSocial generosity? Using changes in pain threshold as a proxy for endorphin upregulation in the brain and a standard economic game (the Dictator Game) as an assay of proSociality, we show that laughter does trigger the endorphin system and, through that, seems to enhance Social Bonding, but it does not reliably influence donations to others. This suggests that Social Bonding and proSociality may operate via different mechanisms, or on different time scales, and relate to different functional objectives.
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united on sunday the effects of secular rituals on Social Bonding and affect
PLOS ONE, 2021Co-Authors: Sarah Charles, R I M Dunbar, Valerie Van Mulukom, Fraser Watts, Jennifer E Brown, Miguel FariasAbstract:Religious rituals are associated with health benefits, potentially produced via Social Bonding. It is unknown whether secular rituals similarly increase Social Bonding. We conducted a field study with individuals who celebrate secular rituals at Sunday Assemblies and compared them with participants attending Christian rituals. We assessed levels of Social Bonding and affect before and after the rituals. Results showed the increase in Social Bonding taking place in secular rituals is comparable to religious rituals. We also found that both sets of rituals increased positive affect and decreased negative affect, and that the change in positive affect predicted the change in Social Bonding observed. Together these results suggest that secular rituals might play a similar role to religious ones in fostering feelings of Social connection and boosting positive affect.
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Cochlear SGN neurons elevate pain thresholds in response to music
'Springer Science and Business Media LLC', 2021Co-Authors: R I M Dunbar, Eiluned Pearce, Bronwyn Tarr, Adarsh Makdani, Joshua Bamford, Sharon Smith, Francis McgloneAbstract:Abstract The C-tactile (CLTM) peripheral nervous system is involved in Social Bonding in primates and humans through its capacity to trigger the brain’s endorphin system. Since the mammalian cochlea has an unusually high density of similar neurons (type-II spiral ganglion neurons, SGNs), we hypothesise that their function may have been exploited for Social Bonding by co-opting head movements in response to music and other rhythmic movements of the head in Social contexts. Music provides one of many cultural behavioural mechanisms for ‘virtual grooming’ in that it is used to trigger the endorphin system with many people simultaneously so as to bond both dyadic relationships and large groups. Changes in pain threshold across an activity are a convenient proxy assay for endorphin uptake in the brain, and we use this, in two experiments, to show that pain thresholds are higher when nodding the head than when sitting still
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blocking mu opioid receptors inhibits Social Bonding in rituals
Biology Letters, 2020Co-Authors: Sarah Charles, Miguel Farias, Valerie Van Mulukom, A Saraswati, S Dein, Fraser Watts, R I M DunbarAbstract:Religious rituals are universal human practices that play a seminal role in community Bonding. In two experiments, we tested the role of mu-opioids as the active factor fostering Social Bonding. We used a mu-opioid blocker (naltrexone) in two double-blind studies of rituals from different religious traditions. We found the same effect across both studies, with naltrexone leading to significantly lower Social Bonding compared with placebo. These studies suggest that mu-opioids play a significant role in experiences of Social Bonding within ritual contexts.
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the aetiology of Social deficits within mental health disorders the role of the immune system and endogenous opioids
Brain Behavior and Immunity, 2020Co-Authors: Sarah Charles, Miguel Farias, R I M DunbarAbstract:Abstract The American National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) has put out a set of research goals that include a long-term plan to identify more reliable endogenous explanations for a wide variety of mental health disorders (Insel, 2013). In response to this, we have identified a major symptom that underlies multiple mental health disorders – Social Bonding dysfunction. We suggest that endogenous opioid abnormalities can lead to altered Social Bonding, which is a symptom of various mental health disorders, including depression, schizophrenia and ASD. This article first outlines how endogenous opioids play a role in Social Bonding. Then we show their association with the body’s inflammation immune function, and review recent literature linking inflammation to mental health ‘immunophenotypes’. We finish by explaining how these immunophenotypes may be caused by alterations in the endogenous opioid system. This is the first overview of the role of inflammation across multiple disorders where we provide a biochemical explanation for why immunophenotypes might exist across diagnoses. We propose a novel mechanism of how the immune system may be causing ‘sickness-type’ behaviours (fatigue, appetite change, Social withdrawal and inhibited motivation) in those who have these immunophenotypes. We hope that this novel aetiology can be used as a basis for future research in mental health.
Oliver Schulke - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
Animal Behaviour, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as with human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily (that is, the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality) may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity between partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in animals is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in 24 wild male Assamese macaques at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Gregariousness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours within 5 m and pronounced Social tolerance, as shown by high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the Gregariousness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Gregariousness in these males remained stable, suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and nonhuman animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation between individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
bioRxiv, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:ABSTRACt Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily, that is the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality, may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity among partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in nonhumans is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in twenty-four wild male Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis), at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Connectedness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours in 5m proximity and pronounced Social tolerance, as high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the connectedness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Connectedness in these males remained stable suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and non-human animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation among individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
Anja Ebenau - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
Animal Behaviour, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as with human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily (that is, the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality) may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity between partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in animals is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in 24 wild male Assamese macaques at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Gregariousness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours within 5 m and pronounced Social tolerance, as shown by high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the Gregariousness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Gregariousness in these males remained stable, suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and nonhuman animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation between individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
bioRxiv, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:ABSTRACt Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily, that is the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality, may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity among partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in nonhumans is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in twenty-four wild male Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis), at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Connectedness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours in 5m proximity and pronounced Social tolerance, as high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the connectedness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Connectedness in these males remained stable suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and non-human animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation among individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
Julia Ostner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
Animal Behaviour, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as with human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily (that is, the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality) may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity between partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in animals is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in 24 wild male Assamese macaques at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Gregariousness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours within 5 m and pronounced Social tolerance, as shown by high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the Gregariousness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Gregariousness in these males remained stable, suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and nonhuman animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation between individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
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personality homophily affects male Social Bonding in wild assamese macaques macaca assamensis
bioRxiv, 2019Co-Authors: Anja Ebenau, Christoph Von Borell, Lars Penke, Julia Ostner, Oliver SchulkeAbstract:ABSTRACt Animal Social bonds are defined as stable, equitable and strong affiliative and cooperative relationships similar to human friendships. Just as human friendships, Social bonds are thought to function as alliances that generate adaptive benefits via support in critical situations. In humans, similarity in many sociodemographic, behavioural and intrapersonal characteristics leads to trust and is predictive of friendships. Specifically, personality homophily, that is the tendency of individuals to form Social bonds with others who have a similar personality, may increase predictability and facilitate trust and reciprocity among partners with compatible behavioural tendencies. While evidence for Social Bonding in nonhumans is accumulating, far less is known about its predictors. Here, personality homophily effects on the formation and maintenance of Social bonds are shown in twenty-four wild male Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis), at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Dyadic bond strength increased with increased similarity in the trait Connectedness (i.e. frequent and diverse neighbours in 5m proximity and pronounced Social tolerance, as high rates of friendly approaches to and by others). To differentiate whether homophily indeed predicted bond formation or whether bonded males’ personalities became more similar over time, we tested the stability of the connectedness traits in a subset of immigrating males that had to form new bonds. Connectedness in these males remained stable suggesting that males do not adapt their personality to their partner. Our results support the idea of a shared evolutionary origin of homophily as a partner choice strategy in human and non-human animals. The main selective advantage of personality similarity in animal Social bonds may result from a more reliable cooperation among individuals with similar cooperative behavioural tendencies.
Eiluned Pearce - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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laughter influences Social Bonding but not proSocial generosity to friends and strangers
PLOS ONE, 2021Co-Authors: R I M Dunbar, Eiluned Pearce, Anna Frangou, Felix GraingerAbstract:Humans deploy a number of specific behaviours for forming Social bonds, one of which is laughter. However, two questions have not yet been investigated with respect to laughter: (1) Does laughter increase the sense of Bonding to those with whom we laugh? and (2) Does laughter facilitate proSocial generosity? Using changes in pain threshold as a proxy for endorphin upregulation in the brain and a standard economic game (the Dictator Game) as an assay of proSociality, we show that laughter does trigger the endorphin system and, through that, seems to enhance Social Bonding, but it does not reliably influence donations to others. This suggests that Social Bonding and proSociality may operate via different mechanisms, or on different time scales, and relate to different functional objectives.
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Cochlear SGN neurons elevate pain thresholds in response to music
'Springer Science and Business Media LLC', 2021Co-Authors: R I M Dunbar, Eiluned Pearce, Bronwyn Tarr, Adarsh Makdani, Joshua Bamford, Sharon Smith, Francis McgloneAbstract:Abstract The C-tactile (CLTM) peripheral nervous system is involved in Social Bonding in primates and humans through its capacity to trigger the brain’s endorphin system. Since the mammalian cochlea has an unusually high density of similar neurons (type-II spiral ganglion neurons, SGNs), we hypothesise that their function may have been exploited for Social Bonding by co-opting head movements in response to music and other rhythmic movements of the head in Social contexts. Music provides one of many cultural behavioural mechanisms for ‘virtual grooming’ in that it is used to trigger the endorphin system with many people simultaneously so as to bond both dyadic relationships and large groups. Changes in pain threshold across an activity are a convenient proxy assay for endorphin uptake in the brain, and we use this, in two experiments, to show that pain thresholds are higher when nodding the head than when sitting still
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singing together or apart the effect of competitive and cooperative singing on Social Bonding within and between sub groups of a university fraternity
Psychology of Music, 2016Co-Authors: Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay, Max Van Duijn, Anna Rotkirch, Tamas Davidbarrett, R I M DunbarAbstract:Singing together seems to facilitate Social Bonding, but it is unclear whether this is true in all contexts. Here we examine the Social Bonding outcomes of naturalistic singing behaviour in a European university Fraternity composed of exclusive “Cliques”: recognised sub-groups of 5–20 friends who adopt a special name and identity. Singing occurs frequently in this Fraternity, both “competitively” (contests between Cliques) and “cooperatively” (multiple Cliques singing together). Both situations were recreated experimentally in order to explore how competitive and cooperative singing affects feelings of closeness towards others. Participants were assigned to teams of four and were asked to sing together with another team either from the same Clique or from a different Clique. Participants (N = 88) felt significantly closer to teams from different Cliques after singing with them compared to before, regardless of whether they cooperated with (singing loudly together) or competed against (trying to singing lo...
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singing and Social Bonding changes in connectivity and pain threshold as a function of group size
Evolution and Human Behavior, 2016Co-Authors: Daniel Weinstein, Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay, R I M Dunbar, Lauren StewartAbstract:Over our evolutionary history, humans have faced the problem of how to create and maintain Social bonds in progressively larger groups compared to those of our primate ancestors. Evidence from historical and anthropological records suggests that group music-making might act as a mechanism by which this large-scale Social Bonding could occur. While previous research has shown effects of music making on Social bonds in small group contexts, the question of whether this effect 'scales up' to larger groups is particularly important when considering the potential role of music for large-scale Social Bonding. The current study recruited individuals from a community choir that met in both small (n = 20 - 80) and large (a 'megachoir' combining individuals from the smaller subchoirs n = 232) group contexts. Participants gave self-report measures (via a survey) of Social Bonding and had pain threshold measurements taken (as a proxy for endorphin release) before and after 90 minutes of singing. Results showed that feelings of inclusion, connectivity, positive affect, and measures of endorphin release all increased across singing rehearsals and that the influence of group singing was comparable for pain thresholds in the large versus small group context. Levels of Social closeness were found to be greater at pre- and post-levels for the small choir condition. However, the large choir condition experienced a greater change in Social closeness as compared to the small condition. The finding that singing together fosters Social closeness - even in large contexts where individuals are not known to each other - is consistent with evolutionary accounts that emphasize the role of music in Social Bonding, particularly in the context of creating larger cohesive groups than other primates are able to manage.
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The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast Social Bonding
Royal Society Open Science, 2015Co-Authors: Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay, Robin I. M. DunbarAbstract:It has been proposed that singing evolved to facilitate Social cohesion. However, it remains unclear whether Bonding arises out of properties intrinsic to singing or whether any Social engagement can have a similar effect. Furthermore, previous research has used one-off singing sessions without exploring the emergence of Social Bonding over time. In this semi-naturalistic study, we followed newly formed singing and non-singing (crafts or creative writing) adult education classes over seven months. Participants rated their closeness to their group and their affect, and were given a proxy measure of endorphin release, before and after their class, at three timepoints (months 1, 3 and 7).We show that although singers and non-singers felt equally connected by timepoint 3, singers experienced much faster Bonding: singers demonstrated a significantly greater increase in closeness at timepoint 1, but the more gradual increase shown by non-singers caught up over time. This represents the first evidence for an ‘ice-breaker effect’ of singing in promoting fast cohesion between unfamiliar individuals, which bypasses the need for personal knowledge of group members gained through prolonged interaction. We argue that singing may have evolved to quickly bond large human groups of relative strangers, potentially through encouraging willingness to coordinate by enhancing positive affect.
