Development of the Social Behavior of Two Mice Species With Contrasting Social Systems

The house mouse (Mus musculus) and the mound‐building mouse (M. spicilegus) differ in their mating and social systems. The M. musculus is polygynous and females tend to breed cooperatively while M. spicilegus is known to be monogamous and famous for its unique cooperative behavior; the communal overwintering. Mus spicilegus is considered as a highly aggressive species in the genus Mus. In the present study, we attempted to analyze the development of aggressive and sociable behavior in these species and to discover how familiarity with the target moderates the development of sociable and aggressive behaviors and moderates the differences between the species. Dyadic social interaction tests in neutral cages were performed on 21‐, 60‐, and 120‐day‐old mice of both genders and both species. Each individual was tested against a sibling and an unfamiliar individual at all three ages. Our results showed that the development of aggressive and sociable behavior with age differed between the species and sexes; however, familiarity with the other mouse moderated the effect of species on aggression. At 21 days, both genders of M. spicilegus were more aggressive against strangers than siblings. This became true of both species at 60 days. When facing a stranger, both sexes of M. spicilegus were more aggressive than M. musculus at 120 days. However, when facing a sibling, neither gender of M. spicilegus was more agonistic than M. musculus, indicating that either kinship or early social experiences elicit tolerance. Aggr. Behav. 38:288‐297, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Aggression and commensalism in house mouse: a comparative study across Europe and the near east

Species specific differences of house mouse social behavior compared to its closest relatives (aboriginal species Mus macedonicus, Mus spicilegus, and Mus spretus) have recently been suggested. However, substantial variation of behavioral traits between mouse populations has been also evidenced. Agonistic behavior of laboratory‐born house mice from five commensal populations (Mus musculus musculus: central Czech Republic, Mus musculus domesticus: Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and natural Mus m. musculus/domesticus hybrids from the Czech part of the hybrid zone) and five non‐commensal populations of M. m. domesticus (C. Syria, E. Syria, Jordan, Iran, Libya) was studied. Dyadic interactions in a neutral cage were performed and the effects of sex and population on time spent by agonistic behavior evaluated. In all studied populations, the male‐male interactions were more agonistic than the female‐female ones. Male‐male behavior gradually increased from the least agonistic population of M. m. musculus from Central Europe to the Near East populations of M. m. domesticus exhibiting the highest scores of agonistic behavior. Between‐population differences were even stronger when female‐female encounters were considered. While females of commensal populations belonging to both M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus were tolerant of each other, those coming from non‐commensal populations of M. m. domesticus were highly agonistic, reaching even the level of aggression between the females of some aboriginal mouse species. This phenomenon may be attributed to increased competition for food in non‐commensal populations when compared to commensal ones supplied by superabundant resources. Social behavior of house mice, therefore, appears to be pliable rather than rigid and species specific. It can be changed rapidly according to ecological needs and such adaptability allows house mice to colonize various habitats. Aggr. Behav. 31:283–293, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Ridge structural equation modelling with correlation matrices for ordinal and continuous data

This paper develops a ridge procedure for structural equation modelling (SEM) with ordinal and continuous data by modelling the polychoric/polyserial/product‐moment correlation matrix R . Rather than directly fitting R , the procedure fits a structural model to R _a= R +a I by minimizing the normal distribution‐based discrepancy function, where a > 0. Statistical properties of the parameter estimates are obtained. Four statistics for overall model evaluation are proposed. Empirical results indicate that the ridge procedure for SEM with ordinal data has better convergence rate, smaller bias, smaller mean square error, and better overall model evaluation than the widely used maximum likelihood procedure.     

Consistency of aggressive temperament in domestic pigs: The effects of social experience and social disruption

Resident‐intruder (R‐I) tests can be used to measure the aggressive temperament of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa), and have previously been shown to predict the severity and persistence of aggression when unfamiliar pigs are mixed. To study the consistency of individual differences in aggressiveness over time, 112 pigs (eight from each of fourteen litters) were given two R‐I tests at each of three ages (46, 80, and 113 days). Pigs were R‐I tested singly in an arena within the home pen, where a smaller unfamiliar intruder pig was introduced to a resident pig. Latency to the first attack by the resident was recorded, and the test was stopped as soon as an attack occurred, otherwise the test lasted five minutes. Pigs from eight of the litters used here had been allowed to mix with another litter prior to weaning (days 10–30; socialised), while pigs in six litters remained in littermate groups (control). To determine whether consistency would survive the effects of social disruption, pigs were mixed into new groups on two occasions between the first and second test, then remained in these groups until the third test. Evidence of consistency was found, despite the social disruption. Socialised pigs were more aggressive than controls, females were more aggressive than males, and certain litters were more aggressive than others. After adjusting for these, consistent differences between individuals were still evident. Consistency was higher between the second and third tests compared to the first and second, possibly because of stable group membership or the effects of age or experience. In support of the idea that social experience improves consistency, socialised pigs were more consistent than controls throughout. Evidence of consistent individual differences in aggressive temperament suggests that breeding or changes to early life experiences could have a long‐lasting influence on aggressive behaviour in pigs. Aggr. Behav. 30:435–448, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Traces of Reduction: Marion and Heidegger on the Phenomenon of Religion

In his work, Being Given, Jean‐Luc Marion calls for a phenomenological investigation of the givenness (donation) of the phenomenon. As a phenomenologist of religion, Marion aims to give a philosophical account of the possibility of revelation, something which by definition is unconditionally given. In Being Given, he contends that his phenomenological reduction to unconditional givenness (in the figure of the saturated phenomenon) can account for religious phenomena in a way that respects the subject matter, all the while remaining philosophically neutral. In this paper I argue that Marion's aim to maintain strict philosophical neutrality interferes with his attempt to respect the subject matter of his own investigation, i.e., the givenness of revelation, since revelation is recognizably given, even as possibility, only in the non‐neutral context of an interpretive tradition. I establish the latter claim with recourse to Heidegger's early hermeneutic sketches of ‘primordial Christian religiosity.’ In turn, I call for a phenomenological Destruktion of Marion's work in order to release its potential as a non‐neutral investigation of a distinctively Catholic religiosity.     

Behaviour of Young Growing Pigs in a Resident‐Intruder Test Designed to Measure Aggressiveness

A total of 125 growing pigs (47 days old) were tested for aggressive responses on two occasions using a resident‐intruder (R‐I) design. Our aims were twofold: (1) to attempt to replicate earlier work on pigs showing that resident aggression is a consistent individual characteristic, unaffected by weight or sex of the resident or intruder and (2) to develop behavioural measures to characterise the wide range of aggressive responses in the test. Resident pigs, housed since birth with littermates, were placed individually in a divided‐off portion of their home pen, and a smaller, unfamiliar intruder (approximately 66% of the resident's weight) was introduced. The test ended 5 min after the first investigation of the intruder by the resident or when one of the pigs began to attack the other (by delivering a sudden, rapid series of bites). On days 1 and 2, 33.6% and 43.2% of tests, respectively, ended in an attack by a resident. Intruder attacks were rare. Pigs were consistent in whether they attacked or not over the two tests, although attack latencies for pigs attacking in both tests were not correlated. Females were more likely to attack and attacked more quickly than males on the first test day but not in the second test or overall. Intruder sex had some effect on the test outcome (males were attacked more rapidly in the second test only). Resident and intruder weight had no effect. Aggressive pigs (meaning pigs that attacked vs. pigs that did not and fast‐attacking pigs vs. slow‐attacking pigs) showed a number of differences in behaviour during the R‐I test: (1) they took longer to make initial contact with the intruder in their first test; (2) they showed a higher frequency of aggressive acts (single head knocks, bites, and shoves); (3) they spent a greater proportion of the test engaging in social contact with the intruder rather than non‐social behaviours; (4) their social behaviour involved more postures directed toward the head as opposed to flank‐ or rear‐directed postures or re‐establishing social contact; and (5) they showed closer physical contact with intruders during social encounters, as characterised by their lower head positions. Some of these behavioural measures could be used to improve the measuring power of the test in the future. Improved behavioural measures would enable aggressiveness scoring among pigs that did not attack instead of classifying them all together as “non‐attacking.” Aggr. Behav. 28:401–415, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Emotional processing of individuals high in psychopathic traits

One of the most important clinical features of psychopaths is their differential emotional response style. The present study examined the modulating effect of negative mood induction on the processing of emotional information and its relation to psychopathy. The sample of 105 participants were randomly assigned to two types of mood induction conditions (negative vs neutral) and viewed three types of visual stimuli (positive, neutral, negative). Psychopathic Personality Inventory‐R (PPI‐R; Lilienfeld & Andrews) was employed to measure their psychopathic traits. It was hypothesized that individuals high on PPI‐II (i.e., self‐centered impulsivity) would show greater response latencies to emotionally negative pictures when they were induced into a negative mood compared to individuals high on PPI‐I (i.e., fearless dominance). In general, individuals high on PPI‐II showed greater response latencies to emotionally negative pictures, but their responsivity did not vary as a function of mood manipulation or task demands. When controlling the influence of other PPI factors, PPI‐I predicted reaction time (RT) facilitation to positive pictures in general (i.e., faster RT), and when interacting with a negative mood induction, it predicted longer viewing time of and more difficulty disattending from positive pictures (i.e., slower RT). These results were discussed within emotional processing theory associated with psychopathy.     

Testing for negligible interaction: A coherent and robust approach

Researchers often want to demonstrate a lack of interaction between two categorical predictors on an outcome. To justify a lack of interaction, researchers typically accept the null hypothesis of no interaction from a conventional analysis of variance (ANOVA). This method is inappropriate as failure to reject the null hypothesis does not provide statistical evidence to support a lack of interaction. This study proposes a bootstrap‐based intersection–union test for negligible interaction that provides coherent decisions between the omnibus test and post hoc interaction contrast tests and is robust to violations of the normality and variance homogeneity assumptions. Further, a multiple comparison strategy for testing interaction contrasts following a non‐significant omnibus test is proposed. Our simulation study compared the Type I error control, omnibus power and per‐contrast power of the proposed approach to the non‐centrality‐based negligible interaction test of Cheng and Shao (2007, Statistica Sinica, 17, 1441). For 2 × 2 designs, the empirical Type I error rates of the Cheng and Shao test were very close to the nominal α level when the normality and variance homogeneity assumptions were satisfied; however, only our proposed bootstrapping approach was satisfactory under non‐normality and/or variance heterogeneity. In general a × b designs, although the omnibus Cheng and Shao test, as expected, is the most powerful, it is not robust to assumption violation and results in incoherent omnibus and interaction contrast decisions that are not possible with the intersection–union approach.     

The impact of non‐aggressive behaviour early in aggressive interactions: Sex differences in direct and indirect aggression in response to provocation

Using an adapted form of the Taylor competitive reaction time task (TCRT: Taylor, 1967), we examined the effect of initially non‐aggressive behaviour during aggressive encounters. Specifically, if a person is initially non‐aggressive, but becomes more aggressive later, does an opponent respond more or less aggressively in response? Participants (N = 148) played a competitive reaction time task against a bogus partner, who was either initially non‐aggressive, or initially moderately aggressive, and then delivered increasingly loud noise blasts to participants on trials when the participant lost. Both direct (noise blasts delivered to the partner) and indirect aggression (damage to partner's reputation) were assessed. The impact of whether or not participants expected to meet the partner on direct and indirect aggression was also examined. All participants reduced their direct aggression towards an initially non‐aggressive partner and a partner they expected to meet. However, for females, the switch from initial non‐aggression to later aggression generated a negative evaluation of the partner, exhibited by indirect but not direct aggression.     

High maternal aggression in dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli and P. sungorus)

The defense of offspring, termed maternal aggression, is a highly conserved behavior in mammals, including rodents. This study examined relative levels of maternal aggression in two closely related dwarf hamster species, Phodopus campbelli and P. sungorus, that normally inhabit high latitude, boreal environments. When tested with first litters and with the breeder male remaining with the female (for P. campbelli the male is necessary for successful rearing of offspring), both species exhibited high levels of maternal aggression with average duration of aggressive behavior>80 sec for a 10 min test. For P. sungorus, males are not required to rear offspring. P. sungorus females with either one or multiple litters (singly housed after impregnation) exhibited significantly higher levels of aggression (>300 sec) relative to females co‐housed with the sires. In terms of species differences in attack style, P. campbelli exhibited a boxing or clawing strategy for ～50% of total attack time, but for P. sungorus, this form of attack occurred<5% of the time. For P. sungorus, attacks to the vulnerable belly and flank constituted>90% of all attacks, but these regions were attacked ～50% of the time for P. campbelli. A survey of levels of maternal aggression of rodents in other genera suggests that maternal aggression in Phodopus is at the high end of the spectrum. Results of this study suggest that the presence of the breeder male may actually suppress aggression in P. sungorus. This fact, as well as its high level of aggression and its distant relationship to mice and rats, suggest P. sungorus as a possible model for future studies on the neurobiological basis of maternal aggression. The relationship between the high rates of maternal aggression and life history strategy in Phodopus is discussed. Aggr. Behav. 00:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

BRIEF (TEST‐CONTROL) FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT EVALUATION OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR EVOKED BY DIVIDED ATTENTION

We measured the effects of divided attention on the aggressive behavior of a 20‐year‐old man within a test‐control functional analysis (FA; Iwata, B. A., Duncan, B. A., Zarcone, J. R., Lerman, D. C., & Shore, B. A. (1994). A sequential, test‐control methodology for conducting functional analyses of self‐injurious behavior. Behavior Modification, 18, 289–306). The FA confirmed that divided attention was associated with high‐frequency aggression and aggression‐contingent attention from a familiar and preferred staff person. A subsequent treatment evaluation confirmed that aggression decreased when the man was able to request attention from the staff person under the divided attention condition. We discuss the clinical utility of a divided attention and test‐control methodology when conducting a FA of serious problem behavior within applied settings Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Phenomenology of Rheumatology: Disability,Merleau‐Ponty,and the Fallacy of Maximal Grip

This paper charts the concepts of grip and the bodily auxiliary in Maurice Merleau‐Ponty to consider how they find expression in disability narratives. Arguing against the notion of “maximal grip” that some commentators have used to explicate intentionality in Merleau‐Ponty, I argue that grip in his texts functions instead as a compensatory effort to stave off uncertainty, lack of mastery, and ambiguity. Nearly without exception in Phenomenology of Perception, the mobilization of “grip” is a signal of impending loss, and is offered as a strategy for managing failure rather than as an example of sure‐footed mastery. I read Merleau‐Ponty alongside Mary Felstiner's Out of Joint: A Public and Private Story of Arthritis to explore these other, attenuated dimensions of grip. Finally, the paper turns to Harriet McBryde Johnson's memoir Too Late to Die Young as an example of a way of thinking disabled embodiment otherwise.     

Definitions of bullying: Age and sex differences in a Turkish sample

The aim of the present study was to investigate the meaning profile of the Turkish term ‘zorbal?k’, which is considered the most similar to the English word ‘bullying’, and of five other terms in Turkish that describe bullying‐like behaviours. We used the cartoon methodology of a previous study, but with an expanded task of 40 stick‐figure cartoons. These cartoons were shown to 124 students (70 girls and 54 boys), in fourth grade (M = 9.3 years) and eighth grade (M = 13.3 years). Our findings indicated four major clusters: neutral or non‐aggressive, physically aggressive, verbally aggressive, and social exclusion, with the physically‐aggressive cluster splitting into two clusters, physical bullying and other physical aggression, in the older students.     

Intraspecific aggression in male hamsters is inhibited by intrahypothalamic vasopressin-receptor antagonist

The present study examines the effect of the arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor antagonist, d(CH₂)₅Tyr(Me)AVP, on intraspecific aggression between pairs of male Golden hamsters in a neutral territory. Subjects drawn from a group of 24 animals were paired once each with novel partners from the group under each of three experimental conditions: 1) both members of a pair were microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus with saline (S/S), 2) one member of a pair was microinjected with AVP-receptor antagonist and its partner with saline (A/S), and 3) both members of a pair were microinjected with AVP-receptor antagonist (A/A). There were significantly (P < .01) fewer attacks during encounters between pairs of hamsters in the A/A condition compared to pairs in the A/S condition. Similarly, pairs in the A/S condition attacked significantly (P < .025) less often than pairs of hamsters in the S/S condition. These results confirm our earlier work showing that AVP-receptor antagonist reduces intraspecific aggression. In addition, saline-treated hamsters initiated significantly (P < .001) fewer attacks toward antagonist treated hamsters than would have been predicted if their opponent was not drug treated. These latter results suggest that hamsters microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus with an AVP-receptor antagonist also elicit less aggression from conspecifics.     

Effects of acute administration of nicotine and lobeline on agonistic encounters in male mice

The effects of acute administration of two nicotinic ligands, (‐)‐nicotine and (‐)‐lobeline were examined on isolation‐induced aggression in mice. Individually housed male mice confronted anosmic “standard opponents” in a neutral arena 10 min after drug administration. Encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethologically based analysis facilitating estimation of time allocated to 11 broad behavioral categories. Nicotine did not have significant effects on threat or attack but significantly diminished time allocated to digging. The lowest dose of lobeline significantly diminished attack and induced a slight increase of immobility without significantly diminishing other behaviors with motor components. The intermediate and highest dose of lobeline reduced time allocated to all behaviors with motor components. It is concluded that these two nicotinic agonists produce different behavioral profiles during agonistic encounters in mice but that this test may not facilitate assessing the impact of such drugs on irritability. Aggr. Behav. 26:376–385, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Illuminating the nomological network of digital aggression: Results from two studies

We examined the nomological network surrounding digital aggression (DA), in regards to other forms of aggression/antisocial behavior and individual difference variables commonly associated with other forms of aggression/antisocial behavior. Two large samples of university students (N = 713 and 633, respectively) completed a series of questionnaires and in some cases, an additional experience sampling study. Results revealed that, in emerging adulthood, DA appears to have a unique demographic profile relative to the other forms of aggression and antisocial behavior. Results further suggested that, when examined simultaneously, only social aggression and non‐aggressive rule‐breaking evidenced independent associations with DA. These associations persisted even in the absence of social media use. Unique associations with most individual difference variables dissipated once we controlled for social aggression and rule‐breaking, although DA was independently associated with extraversion and alcohol use problems. Such findings begin to embed DA in its broader nomological network and suggest clear functional links with both social aggression and non‐aggressive rule‐breaking.

     

Verbalization and problem solving: Insight and spatial factors

Two groups of participants attempted eight examples of each of four different problem types formed by combining insight versus non‐insight and verbal versus spatial factors. The groups were given different verbalization instructions viz., Silent (N = 40) or Direct Concurrent (N = 40). There were significant differences between insight and non‐insight tasks and between spatial and verbal tasks in terms of solution rates and latencies. Significant interactions between the verbal versus spatial factor and verbalization condition on solution rates and latencies reflected a greater (negative) effect of verbalizing on spatial as against verbal problems. However, no significant interactions of the insight versus non‐insight factor with verbalization condition on solution rates or latencies were found. These results favoured the ‘business as usual’ view of insight problem solving as against the ‘special process’ view which predicted larger effects of verbalization for insight problems as against non‐insight problems.     

Suppression of mouse killing and apomorphine-induced social aggression in rats by local anesthesia of the mystacial vibrissae.

Local anesthesia of the facial epidermis can effect a substantial decrease in shock-elicited fighting of paired rats. The present experiments constitute methodological extensions to mouse killing and spontaneous drug-induced social aggression. In the first experiment, known mouse-killing rats were given bilateral lidocaine or placebo injections administered under ether anesthesia. Attack and kill latencies were significantly longer under lidocaine than under placebo; all subjects killed under placebo, whereas a third of all subjects failed to kill on the initial lidocaine test. On subsequent lidocaine testing, latencies decreased and nonkilling rats killed. In a second experiment intense apomorphine-induced conspecific fighting of rats preselected for aggressiveness was markedly reduced following lidocaine anesthesia. The comparative results of both experiments are interpreted in reference to theoretical assertions regarding the import of sensory information in stimulus-bound attack and the typology of central aggression systems.     

Differential effect of handling on adult aggression in male mice bidirectionally selected for attack latency

Individual variation in intermale aggression is to a significant degree based upon genetic variation, but environmental factors can also exert their influence on the level of aggression. Moreover, genotype–environment interactions are a well‐known phenomenon. In the present experiment, I tested whether cage size or handling during development had an influence on adult attack latency scores. To be able to study a genotype–environment interaction, mice from two bidirectionally on attack latency selected lines were used. The size of the cage in which the mice grew up had no long‐term effect on aggression, neither in the high‐ nor in the low‐aggressive line. Handling, however, significantly increased the adult aggression of males from the low‐aggressive line. Despite the differential effect of handling on genetically high‐ and low‐aggressive mice, handling was not able to undo the marked differences in attack latencies between mice from both lines. Aggr. Behav. 25:365–368, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Asymmetrical Analogical Arguments

Analogies must be symmetric. If a is like b, then b is like a. So if a has property R, and if R is within the scope of the analogy, then b (probably) has R. However, analogical arguments generally single out, or depend upon, only one of a or b to serve as the basis for the inference. In this respect, analogical arguments are directed by an asymmetry. I defend the importance of this neglected – even when explicitly mentioned – feature in understanding analogical arguments.