Do chimpanzees learn reputation by observation? Evidence from direct and indirect experience with generous and selfish strangers

Can chimpanzees learn the reputation of strangers indirectly by observation? Or are such stable behavioral attributions made exclusively by first-person interactions? To address this question, we let seven chimpanzees observe unfamiliar humans either consistently give (generous donor) or refuse to give (selfish donor) food to a familiar human recipient (Experiments 1 and 2) and a conspecific (Experiment 3). While chimpanzees did not initially prefer to beg for food from the generous donor (Experiment 1), after continued opportunities to observe the same behavioral exchanges, four chimpanzees developed a preference for gesturing to the generous donor (Experiment 2), and transferred this preference to novel unfamiliar donor pairs, significantly preferring to beg from the novel generous donors on the first opportunity to do so. In Experiment 3, four chimpanzees observed novel selfish and generous acts directed toward other chimpanzees by human experimenters. During the first half of testing, three chimpanzees exhibited a preference for the novel generous donor on the first trial. These results demonstrate that chimpanzees can infer the reputation of strangers by eavesdropping on third-party interactions.     

A diary study of implicit self-esteem, interpersonal interactions and alcohol consumption in college students

A 30-day daily diary study examined the relations among implicit self-esteem, interpersonal interactions, and alcohol consumption in college students. Multilevel analyses revealed that students with low implicit self-esteem drank more on days when they experienced more negative interpersonal interactions. In contrast, students with high implicit self-esteem drank more on days when they experienced more positive interpersonal interactions. Spending time with people who were drinking mediated both the low implicit self-esteem by negative interpersonal events interaction and the high implicit self-esteem by positive interpersonal events interaction. These findings suggest that people with low implicit self-esteem may unintentionally drink as a way to regulate unfulfilled needs for acceptance. On the other hand, people with high implicit self-esteem may drink as a way to enhance positive interpersonal experiences.     

The reinforcing properties of aggressive vs nonaggressive social interactions in isolated male ICR mice (Mus musculus)

Isolated male ICR mice in a T-maze consistently selected the goal box which enabled them to fight another mouse if the alternative goal box allowed no social interaction (Experiment 1). However, if the alternative choice enabled the isolated mice to interact with another mouse through a mesh screen which prevented fighting, the preference for the opportunity to fight did not appear (Experiment 2). Because the visual, olfactory, and auditory stimuli available through the screen appeared to be as attractive as the stimuli provided by the additional opportunity to fight, it is not necessary to conclude that the stimuli reinforcing the choice behavior in Experiment 1 were provided by fighting. Since there is no compelling reason to conclude that fighting is a primary reinforcer for these isolated mice, it is not necessary to argue that the high incidence of isolation-induced fighting is the reflection of a primary aggressive motive.     

Dyadic interactions in accepted and rejected children

Forty same-sex dyads were separated into three groups (accepted, rejected, and mixed status) on the basis of their scores on the likability and rejection scales of the Pupil Evaluation Inventory [Pekarik, E.,et al. (1976).Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 4, 83–97]. These dyads participated in a 10-min videotaped interaction which was separated into three segments: waiting period, cooperative task, and conversational period. Observational recordings of six micro behaviors (talk time, gestures, gaze, smiles, orientation, and laughs), as well as ratings of physical attractiveness and speech volume (loudness) and observational counts of cooperation were obtained from these tapes. These data were subjected to a 2 (sex) × 3 (status) × 3 (segment) MANOVA, with sex and status as between-group factors and segment as a within-group factor. The results indicated a number of significant multivariate effects. Univariate tests for attractiveness, speech volume, and cooperation measures indicated a significant status effect for the variable of intensity. These results are interpreted in terms of the developmental literature on social behavior, as well as the data on face-to-face interactions provided by S. D. Duncan and D. W. Fiske [(1977).Face to face interaction: Research methods, and theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum]. Suggestions for future research are offered.The authors wish to thank the principals, parents and children of Clinton Central Elementary, Frontier Elementary, and Western Elementary Schools for their help and participation in this project. We would also like to express our gratitude to Judith Conger, Patricia Moisan-Thomas, Judith Dygdon, and all other members of the research team who contributed their time and effort to this project.     

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN THREE SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Controversy exists over the benefits that workers with severe disabilities accrue under different supported employment options. This study focused upon one benefit of supported employment: social integration. Direct observation procedures were used to assess the social interactions of 37 adults with severe disabilities in 18 employment programs representing three different supported employment contexts (individual, enclave, and work crew). Results indicated that workers employed in individual and enclave programs had significantly more contact with nondisabled persons than did members of work crews. No differences were detected in the social contact rate between disabled and nondisabled workers in individual versus enclave sites. Furthermore, few differences in type of interactions across the three different work options were revealed. Results suggest that both individual and enclave models are capable of facilitating social integration. However, characteristics of specific job sites, more so than the employment model per se, may determine whether a particular employment setting is conducive to social integration.     

COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING FOR PARENTS: EXPERIMENTAL AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

Coordination of professional services on behalf of children often hinges on the involvement of informed parents. The purposes of this study were to identify and experimentally and socially validate skills required of parents for effective communication with professionals. Target skills were identified on the basis of judges' social validation ratings of (a) sample interactions between parents and professionals and (b) the behaviors comprising a resultant task analysis. Eight parents were then trained in these skills via an instructional package. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects and grouped skill domains showed that each parent acquired the targeted skills during simulated conferences and that correct responding usually generalized to actual conferences. Independent judges validated training outcomes, and participating parents indicated satisfaction with the curriculum.     

Sequential social network data

A new method is proposed for the statistical analysis of dyadic social interaction data measured over time. The data to be studied are assumed to be realizations of a social network of a fixed set of actors interacting on a single relation. The method is based on loglinear models for the probabilities for various dyad (or actor pair) states and generalizes the statistical methods proposed by Holland and Leinhardt (1981), Fienberg, Meyer, & Wasserman (1985), and Wasserman (1987) for social network data. Two statistical models are described: the first is an associative approach that allows for the study of how the network has changed over time; the second is a predictive approach that permits the researcher to model one time point as a function of previous time points. These approaches are briefly contrasted with earlier methods for the sequential analysis of social networks and are illustrated with an example of longitudinal sociometric data.Research support provided by National Science Foundation Grant #SES84-08626 to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and by a predoctoral traineeship awarded to the second author by the Quantitative Methods Program of the Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, funded by ADAHMA, National Research Service Award #MH14257. We thank the editor and three anonymous referees for helpful comments.This paper is based on research presented at the 1986 Annual Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Toronto, Ontario, June, 1986.     

Contrast effects in multiple fixed-interval reinforcement schedules

Pigeons were exposed to a multiple fixed-interval one-minute fixed-interval three-minute schedule of reinforcement following training on either a multiple fixed-interval one-minute fixed-interval one-minute schedule or a multiple fixed-interval three-minute fixed-interval three-minute schedule. For all birds, large negative local contrast effects developed during the first of four three-minute intervals in a component; response rate was depressed and postreinforcement pause lengthened in this interval. Positive local contrast effects were evident during the first of 12 one-minute intervals in a component for five of six birds; at asymptote, the pause was very short and response rate slightly elevated during this interval. Overall positive contrast was generally transient and varied considerably across subjects, while overall negative contrast effects, if they occurred, appeared only after a large number of sessions.