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Impact of study partner status and group membership on commitment device effectiveness among college students

Gupta et al. | Jun 03, 2022

Impact of study partner status and group membership on commitment device effectiveness among college students

Here seeking to identify a possible solution to procrastination among college students, the authors used an online experiment that involved the random assignment of study partners that they shared their study time goal with. These partners were classified by status and group membership. The authors found that status and group membership did not significantly affect the likelihood of college students achieving their committed goals, and also suggest the potential of soft commitment devices that take advantage of social relationships to reduce procrastination.

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The effect of the pandemic on the behavior of junior high school students

Kong Grisius et al. | May 01, 2023

The effect of the pandemic on the behavior of junior high school students
Image credit: Chris Montgomery

Here, seeking to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the social interactions of junior high school students, the authors surveyed students, teachers, and parents. Contrary to their initial hypotheses, the authors found positive correlation between increased virtual contact during social isolation and in-person conflict and disregard for social norms after the pandemic. While the authors identified the limitations of their study, they suggest that further research into the effect of online interactions is becoming increasingly important.

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Modeling and optimization of epidemiological control policies through reinforcement learning

Rao et al. | May 23, 2023

Modeling and optimization of epidemiological control policies through reinforcement learning

Pandemics involve the high transmission of a disease that impacts global and local health and economic patterns. Epidemiological models help propose pandemic control strategies based on non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, curfews, and lockdowns, reducing the economic impact of these restrictions. In this research, we utilized an epidemiological Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, Recovered, Deceased (SEIRD) model – a compartmental model for virtually simulating a pandemic day by day.

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Are Age and Sex Related to Emotion Recognition Ability in Children and Teenagers?

Gallego-García et al. | Feb 23, 2018

Are Age and Sex Related to Emotion Recognition Ability in Children and Teenagers?

Humans have a natural ability to recognize emotional cues from the facial expressions of others, as a crucial evolutionary trait to navigate social interactions. This ability likely develops through normal development and social experience, but it is unclear how much influence age and sex have in emotional facial recognition (EFR). In this study, the authors investigate EFR in children and teenagers, and look at whether accurate emotional recognition does occur more in males or females.

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The Analysis of the Effects of Smoke and Water Vapor on Insect Pheromone Communication and Physical Condition: An Investigation of the Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder

Delatorre et al. | May 20, 2015

The Analysis of the Effects of Smoke and Water Vapor on Insect Pheromone Communication and Physical Condition: An Investigation of the Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder

The cause of insect colony collapse disorder (CCD) is still a mystery. In this study, the authors aimed to test the effects of two environmental factors, water vapor and smoke levels, on the social behavior and physical condition of insects. Their findings could help shed light on how changing environmental factors can contribute to CCD.

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