The effects of age,rank and neophobia on social learning in horses

Social learning is said to meet the demands of complex environments in which individuals compete over resources and cooperate to share resources. Horses (Equus caballus) were thought to lack social learning skills because they feed on homogenously distributed resources with few reasons for conflict. However, the horse’s social environment is complex, which raises the possibility that its capacity for social transfer of feeding behaviour has been underestimated. We conducted a social learning experiment using 30 socially kept horses of different ages. Five horses, one from each group, were chosen as demonstrators, and the remaining 25 horses were designated observers. Observers from each group were allowed to watch their group demonstrator opening a feeding apparatus. We found that young, low-ranking and more exploratory horses learned by observing older members of their own group, and the older the horse, the more slowly it appeared to learn. Social learning may be an adaptive specialisation to the social environment. Older animals may avoid the potential costs of acquiring complex and potentially disadvantageous feeding behaviours from younger group members. We argue that horses show social learning in the context of their social ecology and that research procedures must take such contexts into account. Misconceptions about the horse’s sociality may have hampered earlier studies.     

Correction to: A psychophysiological investigation of mourning: There are two sides to the story

Motivation and Emotion - Mourning constitutes an important human emotion, which might cause—among other things—major depressive symptoms when lasting for too long. To date, no study...     

Third Conference of the GWP (2019)

Journal for General Philosophy of Science -     

The Combined Contribution of Fear and Perceived Danger of COVID-19 and Metacognitions to Anxiety Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - Despite a wide base of research suggesting a major role for dysfunctional metacognitions in contributing to anxiety, their role in...     

The contribution of self-compassion in the relationship between social support and posttraumatic growth

IntroductionDespite well-established evidence on the relationship between social support and posttraumatic growth (PTG), there remains a paucity of evidence regarding the mechanism that underlie this relationship.ObjectiveThis study examined the relationship between social support and PTG, while exploring self-compassion as an intermediatory factor in this association.MethodA cross-sectional study with 447 college students was conducted in Trabzon, Turkey. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).ResultsResults indicated that perceived social support and self-compassion were associated with PTG. Furthermore, a significant indirect effect between social support and PTG via self-compassion emerged.ConclusionBased on the study findings, tailored intervention programs targeting self-compassion and perceived social support in trauma-exposed young adults may be useful for promoting posttraumatic growth.     

The interplay of math anxiety and math competence for later performance

Social Psychology of Education - Math anxiety’s negative effects on performance are well-documented. The interplay of math anxiety and mathematical competence regarding later performance is...     

Social Contact,Academic Satisfaction,COVID-19 Knowledge,and Subjective Well-being Among Students at Turkish Universities: a Nine-University Sample

Adverse effects of COVID-19 are seen not only on the physical health of infected individuals but also on their subjective well-being. Sudden changes in social lives, lockdowns, and shifts towards online education have had a negative impact on many people, especially university students. As part of an international study, the current study focused on the well-being of students at Turkish universities in relation to social contact, academic satisfaction, and COVID-19 knowledge. A total of 7363 students from nine universities (86.6% from state universities, 71.04% female, and 73.52% at bachelor’s level) participated in an online survey. Results revealed that females had lower levels of subjective well-being and academic satisfaction. According to a mediation model in the study, the relationship between social contact and well-being was mediated by academic satisfaction and COVID-19 knowledge. Our findings can guide future researchers, mental health professionals, universities, and policymakers to understand and improve subjective well-being of university students.

     

The Influence of Avoidance Temperament and Avoidance‐Based Achievement Goals on Flow

In the present research, we conducted two studies designed to examine the joint influence of avoidance temperament and avoidance‐based achievement goals on the experience of flow on a creativity task. In both a laboratory study (N = 101; M_age = 22.61, SD_age = 4.03; 74.3% female) and a naturalistic study (N = 102; M_age = 16.23, SD_age = 1.13; 48% female), participants high in avoidance temperament were shown to experience greater flow when performance‐avoidance goals were induced; no differences were found in any of the other three achievement goal conditions from the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. These findings reveal a short‐term benefit for a disposition‐goal match grounded in avoidance motivation, and point to the need for more research on both avoidance‐based matches and the short‐term versus long‐term implications of such matches.