Articles tagged with Social Learning
Research published in PLOS ONE shows that chimps can learn more efficient ways to use a tool by watching others. In an experiment, chimps were given juice-boxes with small holes and straws to drink with, and those that watched peers demonstrate the more efficient 'straw-sucking' technique switched to using it.
Recent studies suggest genes play a significant role in shaping political preferences and traits. Twin studies have implicated several genes in influencing political issues such as the death penalty, unemployment, and abortion, with future research holding promise for deeper insights into genetic influences on politics.
Wild meerkats employed nine separate learning processes to solve a foraging task, with social factors drawing them in and asocial processes aiding solution. This study provides insight into the relationship between social learning mechanisms and cultural development.
Wild zebrafish use social learning to assess risk by observing other individuals' behavior and adjusting their own. They become more bold after interacting with bolder domesticated fish but do not change their behavior when encountering shy ones.
The Brandeis University Heller Center has received a $5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to support work and learning programs for nearly 3,000 at-risk youth. The program aims to keep teens engaged and working, earning an average of $1200 over six weeks.
A new study by Brigham Young University professor Sarah Coyne analyzed 40 teen novels and found that 88% of them contained at least one instance of profanity. The study also discovered that characters with higher social status, better looks, and more money were more likely to swear.
A study on vervet monkeys found that social learning is strongly influenced by matrilineal family members, with mothers being particularly strong role models. The research suggests that the mother-offspring relationship plays a crucial role in shaping the behavior of young monkeys.
Researchers found that humans and chimpanzees tend to copy majority behaviour, while children consider both frequency and number of demonstrators. Orangutans, however, showed no such bias, possibly due to their solitary group structure. The study suggests a key difference in social learning mechanisms between humans, chimpanzees, and o...
A study published in Current Biology found that 2-year-olds and chimpanzees tend to copy actions when repeated by three peers, not just one, suggesting a shared strategy for social learning. This phenomenon also applies to orangutans, but to a lesser extent.
Smokers who quit successfully experience noticeable improvements in quality of life, including higher scores on overall well-being and positive emotions. After three years, quitters also report fewer stressors and increased satisfaction with their lives.
A study found that service learning in a university-level horticulture course increased students' understanding of course material and their opinions on community involvement. Alumni reported improved confidence and awareness after the experience, highlighting its benefits for future careers.
Researchers in China and Hong Kong found that Facebook usage improves academic and social integration among students. Students reported using Facebook to maintain friendships, share knowledge, and collaborate with peers, suggesting its potential in enhancing learning outcomes.
Researchers at Emory University are exploring the use of prairie voles to identify drugs that can enhance social learning in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The study found that giving female voles D-cycloserine promotes pair bonding, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic tool for treating autism.
Researchers found that larger social wasp bodies are linked to larger brains and more devoted brain tissue for social interactions, learning, and memory. Queens had larger central processing areas than worker wasps.
A large-scale meta-analysis of school-based social and emotional learning programs found improved social and emotional skills, caring attitudes, and positive social behaviors in students. Students also performed better on achievement tests, with a 11-percentile-point gain in achievement.
Researchers found that babies who watched a robot interact socially with people were more willing to learn from it than those who didn't see the interactions. The study suggests that social interaction and communication are fundamental features of being human, implying that humanoid robots must be able to interact socially with humans ...
A British study found that Westerners reliably recognized six basic human emotions through non-verbal vocalizations, but culturally isolated Himba people only recognized a subset of these emotions. The study highlights the importance of considering positive emotions in cross-cultural research.
Researchers found that children who can pick up on non-verbal cues, recognize their meaning, and respond appropriately are more likely to have successful relationships and avoid social rejection. A second factor is being able to attach meaning to these cues, while a third factor is social problem-solving ability.
Researchers found that culturally learned behaviors are a better explanation for altruism than genetics. Altruism was more common in neighboring social groups with similar cultural practices, suggesting a gene-culture coevolution of prosocial propensities. This challenges traditional views on the role of nature versus nurture in shapin...
A new study by Queen Mary University of London finds that celebrity suicides can trigger copycat suicides due to increased media coverage. The research suggests that restricting media reports on celebrity suicides is crucial to prevent such pandemics.
Researchers found that inexperienced female fruit flies can learn to prefer certain locations for laying eggs after observing mated females, indicating social learning abilities. This study suggests that even solitary insects may exhibit social learning as a survival mechanism.
Research highlights three principles: learning is computational, social interaction underpins early learning, and brain circuits linking perception and action support learning across the life span. Social interaction with humans, particularly parents or tutors, plays a crucial role in early learning.
Researchers found that preschoolers' abilities to think about their social world develop with the maturation of two key brain areas. This study provides insights into the typical social brain development and clues for understanding impaired social reasoning in autism.
Researchers found that inexperienced reed warblers learn to defend themselves by observing the mobbing behavior of other members of their species. This social learning enables them to fine-tune their defenses against cuckoo parasites, a mechanism that responds rapidly to changes in parasitism.
Research by UC Riverside biologists reveals that female field crickets learn to recognize attractive male characteristics through song, influencing their mate selection. This finding underscores the importance of social effects in models of evolution, suggesting that insects possess complex cognitive capacities.
A new mouse study has identified a genetic component to empathy, showing that certain mouse strains can learn to associate another's distress with a cue. The findings have implications for understanding social interaction deficits in humans and may lead to important discoveries about psychosocial disorders. The researchers hope to deco...
Recent discoveries in neuroscience reveal that mirror neurons fire when performing or observing tasks, playing a crucial role in learning motor skills, language acquisition, and social cognition. The ESF workshop highlighted the importance of mirror-based action and emotion understanding in mind-reading abilities.
A research-based program, REDI, was found to improve both academic and social-emotional areas in children participating in Head Start. The study, published in Child Development, showed that REDI's dual-focus approach effectively promoted gains in vocabulary, pre-reading skills, emotional understanding, and social competence.
A study published in Science found that toddlers outperform apes in understanding nonverbal communications, imitating solutions to problems, and understanding intentions of others. The research suggests that humans have distinctive social cognitive skills that allow them to excel in cultural groups.
A new study reveals that female birds of two migrant flycatcher species can acquire a novel preference for nesting sites based on the apparent attraction of competing resident tits. This finding suggests that individual animals use information and make decisions, even from other species.
Researchers found that bats quickly learned new foraging behaviors, such as associating frog calls with palatable prey, through social learning. This study suggests that cultural transmission plays a role in the flexibility of bat foraging behavior, enabling them to adapt to changing environments.
Researchers found that naive bats quickly learned to associate a new frog call with edible prey by observing their neighbor eating, even when the call comes from a frog they wouldn't normally eat. The study shows that fringe-lipped bats can rapidly track fluctuations in prey abundance and composition through their social learning skills.
Researchers discovered that mice without brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) exhibit increased BDNF and gene expression in response to social defeat, leading to improved social behavior. Antidepressants reverse this effect, suggesting a potential treatment for mood disorders.
Researchers found that wood crickets hide more when others have experienced danger and continue to do so after they are gone. This suggests that social learning is possible in insects without large brains, questioning the assumption that it requires superior cognitive abilities.
Researchers studied Romanian and Russian children adopted by families in the US, finding they had normal intelligence but struggled with attention and sensory-motor skills. The study suggests that early childhood experiences can alter brain development and have lasting effects on physical and behavioral problems.