Social bonding

The preceding falls far short of conveying a true impression of the chemical skills of arthropods. Excluded from our discussion are the diverse signaling agents that mediate such vital insectan functions as food location, mate attraction, social bonding, and alarm communication. Other contributors to this colloquium address some of these topics. While... 

Here we have a case of impoverished terminology. One might use the term love, but that would exclude the pleasure of friendship and of general companionship. It may be best to consider this emotion as comprising several subtypes, such as friendship, filial love, parental love, love for other kin, romantic love (see Jankowiak Fischer, 1992 on its universality), and desire for companionship not limited to other humans (cf. the extreme distress of prolonged social isolation). However, the similarities among these sub-types may outweigh the differences. All other dyadic social bonds may have evolved from the primordial mother-infant bond. 

Positive social behaviors, including gregariousness and the formation of social bonds, are less frequently studied than reproductive and agonistic behaviors, but are critical for primate reproduction. Agonistic behavioral traits associated with androgen exposure may be in conflict with social behaviors needed for courtship, the formation of social bonds and subsequent parental behavior. Higher levels of male sociality are probably nec-... 

COMPETITION AND SOCIAL BONDING AMONG FEMALE GORILLAS (GORILLA G. GORILLA) AND BONOBOS (PAN PANISCUS)... 

Research suggests a sexual dimorphism that AVP is important for pair bonding in male prairie voles, while OT is important for pair bonding in female prairie voles (Insel and Hulihan, 1995). Arginine-vasopressin is secreted during sexual arousal in humans. However, the exact role of the peptide in social bonding among humans remains unclear. 

Social bonds must be sundered through deviation before a new community can arise. The energy of many individuals must be directed against the old before there is the realization of a common enemy (the enemy of my enemy is my friend). The step toward a new communion is not far away from this awareness. 

Thinking positively might be important for the readiness to make an amicable response in ambiguous social situations where very little social information is available and a response has to be made quickly. The initial positive social behaviours could help to engender positive relationships with others and promote social bonding. This would help someone to start out with a positive relationship as well as maintain already existing relationships by reducing unnecessary conflicts with others. 

In everyday interactions with their flatmates, the effects of 2 weeks treatment with reboxetine on social behaviours were different from those found in the stranger dyadic interaction. It was found that participants on reboxetine were rated to be less submissive on the IMI and as more passive participant on the 2DSIS by their flatmates (Tse and Bond, 2003). They were generally viewed more positively when on reboxetine and the treatment seemed to result in an enhancement of an already existing friendship. Thus, reboxetine seemed to help both the development and consolidation of social bonds via changes in social behaviours. 

Tse, W.S., and Bond, A. J. (2003). Reboxetine promotes social bonding in healthy volunteers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 17, 189-195. 

In different cultures other drugs perform the same function. For example. South American Indians take coca breaks together, much as we take coffee breaks, and chewing coca leaves with a friend establishes an important social bond. For South Sea Islanders, drinking kava in groups at night is the equivalent of an.Amer-ican cocktail party. 

Study 2 was aimed at resolving a similar issue. Since newborn dogs reared for sale are nurtured by human caretakers for the first 8 weeks or more they are likely to develop a social bond with their caretaker (Bekoff, 1993 Ginsburg Hiestand, 1992 Scott, 1992) which may survive long-term separation. Therefore, in Study 2 we tested the hypothesis that dogs recognize their caretaker s scent after varying periods of separation. 

Bekoff, M. 1993. The necessity and inevitability of social bonding between researchers and animals. Anim. Behav. Consult. Newsletter, 10(A) 1—2. 

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