Social control and smoking: Examining the moderating effects of different dimensions of relationship quality

A common form of social regulation of an individual’s health behavior is social control. The contextual model of social control assumes that higher relationship quality goes along with more beneficial effects of social control on health behavior. This study examined potential differential moderating effects of different dimensions of relationship quality on the associations between positive and negative social control and smoking behavior and hiding smoking. The sample consisted of 144 smokers (n = 72 women; mean age = 31.78, SD = 10.04) with a nonsmoking partner. Positive and negative social control, dimensions of relationship quality consensus, cohesion and satisfaction, numbers of cigarettes smoked (NCS), hiding smoking (HS), and control variables were assessed at baseline. Four weeks later NCS and HS were assessed again. Only for smokers with high consensus, but not cohesion and satisfaction, a negative association between positive control and NCS emerged. Moreover, smokers with high consensus tended to report more HS when being positively and negatively socially controlled. This also emerged for cohesion and positive control. Satisfaction with the relationship did not display any interaction effects. This study’s results emphasize the importance of differentiating not only between positive and negative social control but also between different dimensions of relationship quality in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics in romantic dyads with regard to social regulation of behavioral change.

Demo Abstract: Disseminating WMSN Data by Using Social Network and Web

For smart cities applications, a key requirement is to disseminate data collected from both scalar and multimedia wireless sensor networks to thousands of end-users. Furthermore, the information must be delivered to non-specialist users in a simple, intuitive and transparent manner. In this context, we present Sensor4Cities, a user-friendly tool that enables data dissemination to large audiences, by using using social networks, or/and web pages. The user can request and receive monitored information by using social networks, e.g., Twitter and Facebook, due to their popularity, user-friendly interfaces and easy dissemination. Additionally, the user can collect or share information from smart cities services, by using web pages, which also include a mobile version for smartphones. Finally, the tool could be configured to periodically monitor the environmental conditions, specific behaviors or abnormal events, and notify users in an asynchronous manner. Sensor4Cities improves the data delivery for individuals or groups of users of smart cities applications and encourages the development of new user-friendly services.

Gaze perception in social anxiety and social anxiety disorder

Clinical observations suggest abnormal gaze perception to be an important indicator of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Experimental research has yet paid relatively little attention to the study of gaze perception in SAD. In this article we first discuss gaze perception in healthy human beings before reviewing self-referential and threat-related biases of gaze perception in clinical and non-clinical socially anxious samples. Relative to controls, socially anxious individuals exhibit an enhanced self-directed perception of gaze directions and demonstrate a pronounced fear of direct eye contact, though findings are less consistent regarding the avoidance of mutual gaze in SAD. Prospects for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

The relationship between adolescents’ social capital and individualism-collectivism in Estonia, Germany, and Russia

The present study examines the relationship between adolescents’ social capital and individualism-collectivism using data from the Value of Children Study (Trommsdorff and Nauck, 2005) from Estonia (N=228), Germany (N=278), and Russia (N=280). Two social capital indexes for adolescents (measuring parental social capital and peer-group social capital) were developed for the analysis. The COLINDEX Scale (Chan 1994) was used to measure individualistic and collectivistic values. In all three countries collectivistic values predicted parental social capital whereas individualistic values predicted peer-group social capital. There were also a few country-specific relationships between the constructs, with collectivism and peer-group social capital being positively related in Estonia and individualism and parental social capital signif- icantly negatively correlated in Russia. The current analysis suggests that during the adolescence, collectivistic values are more likely to be related to higher levels of parental social capital and individualistic values to higher levels of peer-group social capital. Therefore, it seems that at the individual level and for adolescents the individualism and collectivism are related to different forms of social capital in the different manner.

Social milieus and worldviews in Mamluk adab-encyclopedias: The example of poverty and wealth

The economic and cultural rise of parts of the ʿāmma due to the particular economic and infrastructural conditions of the Mamluk era fostered the emergence of new intermediate levels of literature that were situated between the literature of the elite and that of the utterly ignorant and unlettered populace, between the Arabic koiné (al-ʿarabīya al-fuṣḥā) and the local dialects (ʿāmmīya-s), between written and oral composition, performance and transmission. The paper proposes to analyze the composition of three Mamluk adab-encyclopedias and their treatment of poverty and wealth in light of the social milieus of their authors and publics.

All eyes on me?! Social anxiety and self-directed perception of eye gaze

To date, only little is known about the self-directed perception and processing of subtle gaze cues in social anxiety that might however contribute to excessive feelings of being looked at by others. Using a web-based approach, participants (n=174) were asked whether or not briefly (300 ms) presented facial expressions modulated in gaze direction (0°, 2°, 4°, 6°, 8°) and valence (angry, fearful, happy, neutral) were directed at them. The results demonstrate a positive, linear relationship between self-reported social anxiety and stronger self-directed perception of others' gaze directions, particularly for negative (angry, fearful) and neutral expressions. Furthermore, faster responding was found for gaze more clearly directed at socially anxious individuals (0°, 2°, and 4°) suggesting a tendency to avoid direct gaze. In sum, the results illustrate an altered self-directed perception of subtle gaze cues. The possibly amplifying effects of social stress on biased self-directed perception of eye gaze are discussed.

Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress

BACKGROUND The presence of social support has been associated with decreased stress responsiveness. Recent animal studies suggest that the neuropeptide oxytocin is implicated both in prosocial behavior and in the central nervous control of neuroendocrine responses to stress. This study was designed to determine the effects of social support and oxytocin on cortisol, mood, and anxiety responses to psychosocial stress in humans. METHODS In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study, 37 healthy men were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test. All participants were randomly assigned to receive intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo 50 min before stress, and either social support from their best friend during the preparation period or no social support. RESULTS Salivary free cortisol levels were suppressed by social support in response to stress. Comparisons of pre- and poststress anxiety levels revealed an anxiolytic effect of oxytocin. More importantly, the combination of oxytocin and social support exhibited the lowest cortisol concentrations as well as increased calmness and decreased anxiety during stress. CONCLUSIONS Oxytocin seems to enhance the buffering effect of social support on stress responsiveness. These results concur with data from animal research suggesting an important role of oxytocin as an underlying biological mechanism for stress-protective effects of positive social interactions.

Ethnic Diversity, Social Trust and the Moderating Role of Integration Policy

Increasing ethnic diversity and whether or not it impacts on trust are highly debated topics. Numerous studies report a negative relationship between diversity and trust, particularly in the US. A growing body of follow-up studies examined the extent to which these findings can be transferred to Europe, but the results remain inconclusive. Moving beyond the discussion of the mere existence or absence of diversity effects on trust, this study is concerned with the moderation of this relationship: It addresses the neglected role of subnational integration policies influencing diversity’s impact on trust. Empirical tests not only indicate that integration policies moderate the relationship, but also suggest that the influence of policies varies substantively according to the specific policy aspect under consideration.