Backbiting and gossip الغيبة

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱجۡتَنِبُواْ كَثِيرࣰ ا مِّنَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعۡضَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِثۡمࣱۖ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُواْ وَلَا يَغۡتَب بَّعۡضُكُم بَعۡضًاۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمۡ أَن يَأۡكُلَ لَحۡمَ أَخِيهِ مَيۡتࣰ ا فَكَرِهۡتُمُوهُۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابࣱ رَّحِيمࣱ‏

Believers, avoid making too many assumptions- some assumptions are sinful- and do not spy on one another or speak ill of people behind their backs: would any of you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother? No, you would hate it. So be mindful of God: God is ever relenting, most merciful

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا يَسۡخَرۡ قَوۡمࣱ مِّن قَوۡمٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونُواْ خَيۡرࣰ ا مِّنۡهُمۡ وَلَا نِسَآءࣱ مِّن نِّسَآءٍ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُنَّ خَيۡرࣰ ا مِّنۡهُنَّۖ وَلَا تَلۡمِزُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَلَا تَنَابَزُواْ بِٱلۡأَلۡقَٰبِۖ بِئۡسَ ٱلِٱسۡمُ ٱلۡفُسُوقُ بَعۡدَ ٱلۡإِيمَٰنِۚ وَمَن لَّمۡ يَتُبۡ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ

Believers, no one group of men should jeer at another, who may after all be better than them; no one group of women should jeer at another, who may after all be better than them; do not speak ill of one another; do not use offensive nicknames for one another. How bad it is to be called a mischief-maker after accepting faith! Those who do not repent of this behaviour are evildoers

هَمَّازࣲ مَّشَّآءِۭ بِنَمِيمࣲ‏

to any backbiter, slander-monger

وَيۡلࣱ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةࣲ لُّمَزَةٍ

Woe to every fault-finding backbiter

وَلَوۡلَآ إِذۡ سَمِعۡتُمُوهُ قُلۡتُم مَّا يَكُونُ لَنَآ أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَٰذَا سُبۡحَٰنَكَ هَٰذَا بُهۡتَٰنٌ عَظِيمࣱ‏

When you heard the lie, why did you not say, ‘We should not repeat this- God forbid!- It is a monstrous slander’

وَبِكُفۡرِهِمۡ وَقَوۡلِهِمۡ عَلَىٰ مَرۡيَمَ بُهۡتَٰنًا عَظِيمࣰ ا

and because they disbelieved and uttered a terrible slander against Mary

O you who believe shun much suspicion. Indeed some suspicions are sins that is to say it causes one to fall into sin. This suspicion may have many forms such as thinking ill of the good folk from among the believers — and such good folk are many — in contrast to the immoral individuals among them in whose case there is no sin so long as it the suspicion is in accordance with their outward behaviour. And do not spy tajassasū one of the two tā’ letters of tatajassasū has been omitted do not pursue the imperfections and faults of Muslims by searching them out; nor backbite one another do not speak of him by mentioning something which he is averse to having mentioned of himself even if it be true. Would any of you love to eat the flesh of his brother dead? read maytan or mayyitan. That is to say it would not be right for him to do so. You would abhor it. Thus to backbite him in life would be

O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicion is sin. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it. And have Taqwa of Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful (12) The Prohibition of Unfounded Suspicion Allah the Exalted forbids His faithful servants from being suspicious, which includes having doubts and suspicions about the conduct of one's family, relatives and other people in general. Therefore, Muslims are to avoid suspicion without foundation. The Leader of the faithful 'Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "Never think ill of the word that comes out of your believing brother's mouth, as long as you can find a good excuse for it." Malik recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ فَإِ

(O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are)�) [49:11]. This was revealed about Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shimas. The latter was hard of hearing and when he came to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, the Companions made room for him in order for him to sit next to the Prophet so that he could hear him. He came one day when people were already seated and started stepping over people, saying: �Make room! Make room!� One man said to him: �You have found a place, so sit down!� Thabit sat down but he was angry. He tried to tease the man. He said: �Who are you?� The man said: �So-and-so�. Thabit exclaimed: �What, the son of so-and-so�, and he mentioned his mother about whom they used to taunt him in the pre-Islamic period. The man lowered his head out of embarrassment. Then, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. (� not let women

O you who believe do not let any people that is any men among you deride yā ayyuhā’lladhīna āmanū lā yaskhar … to the end of the verse was revealed regarding the Banū Tamīm delegation when they derided the poor among the Muslims like ‘Ammār b. Yāsir and Suhayb al-Rūmī; al-sukhriya means ‘scorn’ and ‘disdain’ another people who may be better than they are in God’s sight; nor let any women from among you deride other women who may be better than they are. And do not defame one another do not cast aspersions on others and hence have aspersions cast on you that is let none among you denigrate another; nor insult one another by nicknames do not call another by a nickname which he detests such as ‘O degenerate one!’ or ‘O disbeliever!’. Evil is the name mentioned out of mockery derision and mutual reviling of immorality after faith! al-fusūqu ba‘da’l-īmāni substitutes for al-ismu ‘the name’ to

backbiting faultfinder that is to say calumniator scandal-monger spreading evil talk among people in order to sow dissension between them

So, do not obey the deniers (8)They wish that you should compromise with them, so they (too) would compromise with you (9)And do not obey every Hallaf Mahin (10)A Hammaz, going about with Namim (11)Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful (12)'Utul, and moreover Zanim (13)(He was so) because he had wealth and children (14)When Our Ayat are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old! (15)We shall brand him on the snout (nose)(16) Prohibition of giving in to the Pressure of the Disbelievers and Their Suggestions, and that They like to meet in the Middle of the Path Allah says, 'just as We have favored you and given you the upright legislation and great (standard of) character,' فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ - وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ (So, do not obey the deniers. They wish that you should compromise with them, so they (too) would compromise with you.) Ibn 'Abbas said

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَكْثَمَ، وَالْجَارُودُ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا الْفَضْلُ بْنُ مُوسَى، حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ وَاقِدٍ، عَنْ أَوْفَى بْنِ دَلْهَمٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ صَعِدَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْمِنْبَرَ فَنَادَى بِصَوْتٍ رَفِيعٍ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ يَا مَعْشَرَ مَنْ قَدْ أَسْلَمَ بِلِسَانِهِ وَلَمْ يُفْضِ الإِيمَانُ إِلَى قَلْبِهِ لاَ تُؤْذُوا الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَلاَ تُعَيِّرُوهُمْ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُوا عَوْرَاتِهِمْ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ تَتَبَّعَ عَوْرَةَ أَخِيهِ الْمُسْلِمِ تَتَبَّعَ اللَّهُ عَوْرَتَهُ وَمَنْ تَتَبَّعَ اللَّهُ عَوْرَتَهُ يَفْضَحْهُ وَلَوْ فِي جَوْفِ رَحْلِهِ ‏"‏ قَالَ وَنَظَرَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَوْمًا إِلَى الْبَيْتِ أَوْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَةِ فَقَالَ مَا أَعْظَمَكِ وَأَعْظَمَ حُرْمَتَكِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُ أَعْظَمُ حُرْمَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْكِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ وَاقِدٍ ‏.‏ وَرَوَى إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ السَّمَرْقَنْدِيُّ عَنْ حُسَيْنِ بْنِ وَاقِدٍ نَحْوَهُ وَرُوِيَ عَنْ أَبِي بَرْزَةَ الأَسْلَمِيِّ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوُ هَذَا ‏.‏

Nafi' narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said:“The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) ascended the Minbar and called out with a raised voice: ’O you who accepted Islam with his tongue, while faith has not reached his heart! Do not harm the Muslims, nor revile them, nor spy on them to expose their secrets. For indeed whoever tries to expose his Muslims brother’s secrets, Allah exposes his secrets wide open, even if he were in the depth of his house.’” He (Nafl’) said: ‘ One day Ibn ‘Umar looked at the House- or – the Ka’bah and said: ‘What is it that is more honored than you, and whose honor is more sacred than yours! And the believer’s honor is more sacred to Allah than yours.’”

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ بُكَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ يَأْثُرُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ، فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيثِ، وَلاَ تَجَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَحَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَبَاغَضُوا، وَكُونُوا إِخْوَانًا ‏"‏‏.‏ وَلَا يَخْطُبُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى خِطْبَةِ أَخِيهِ حَتَّى يَنْكِحَ أَوْ يَتْرُكَ

Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Beware of suspicion (about others), as suspicion is the falsest talk, and do not spy upon each other, and do not listen to the evil talk of the people about others' affairs, and do not have enmity with one another, but be brothers. And none should ask for the hand of a girl who is already engaged to his (Muslim) brother, but one should wait till the first suitor marries her or leaves her

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، وَعَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ - عَنِ الْعَلاَءِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْمُفْلِسُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا الْمُفْلِسُ فِينَا مَنْ لاَ دِرْهَمَ لَهُ وَلاَ مَتَاعَ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِنَّ الْمُفْلِسَ مِنْ أُمَّتِي يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِصَلاَةٍ وَصِيَامٍ وَزَكَاةٍ وَيَأْتِي قَدْ شَتَمَ هَذَا وَقَذَفَ هَذَا وَأَكَلَ مَالَ هَذَا وَسَفَكَ دَمَ هَذَا وَضَرَبَ هَذَا فَيُعْطَى هَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ وَهَذَا مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ فَإِنْ فَنِيَتْ حَسَنَاتُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْضَى مَا عَلَيْهِ أُخِذَ مِنْ خَطَايَاهُمْ فَطُرِحَتْ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ طُرِحَ فِي النَّارِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Do you know who is poor? They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: A poor man amongst us is one who has neither dirham with him nor wealth. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The poor of my Umma would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers and fasts and Zakat but (he would find himself bankrupt on that day as he would have exhausted his funds of virtues) since he hurled abuses upon others, brought calumny against others and unlawfully consumed the wealth of others and shed the blood of others and beat others, and his virtues would be credited to the account of one (who suffered at his hand). And if his good deeds fall short to clear the account, then his sins would be entered in (his account) and he would be thrown in the Hell-Fire

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ، وَابْنُ، حُجْرٍ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، عَنِ الْعَلاَءِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ أَتَدْرُونَ مَا الْغِيبَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ ذِكْرُكَ أَخَاكَ بِمَا يَكْرَهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قِيلَ أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ فِي أَخِي مَا أَقُولُ قَالَ ‏"‏ إِنْ كَانَ فِيهِ مَا تَقُولُ فَقَدِ اغْتَبْتَهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيهِ فَقَدْ بَهَتَّهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Do you know what is backbiting? They (the Companions) said: Allah and His Messenger know best. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Backbiting implies your talking about your brother in a manner which he does not like. It was said to him: What is your opinion about this that if I actually find (that failing) in my brother which I made a mention of? He said: If (that failing) is actually found (in him) what you assert, you in fact backbited him, and if that is not in him it is a slander

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ بُكَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ يَأْثُرُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ، فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيثِ، وَلاَ تَجَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَحَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَبَاغَضُوا، وَكُونُوا إِخْوَانًا ‏"‏‏.‏ وَلَا يَخْطُبُ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى خِطْبَةِ أَخِيهِ حَتَّى يَنْكِحَ أَوْ يَتْرُكَ

Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Beware of suspicion (about others), as suspicion is the falsest talk, and do not spy upon each other, and do not listen to the evil talk of the people about others' affairs, and do not have enmity with one another, but be brothers. And none should ask for the hand of a girl who is already engaged to his (Muslim) brother, but one should wait till the first suitor marries her or leaves her

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ، عَنْ عَامِرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو جُبَيْرَةَ بْنُ الضَّحَّاكِ، قَالَ فِينَا نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الآيَةُ فِي بَنِي سَلِمَةَ ‏{‏ وَلاَ تَنَابَزُوا بِالأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ الاِسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الإِيمَانِ ‏}‏ قَالَ قَدِمَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلَيْسَ مِنَّا رَجُلٌ إِلاَّ وَلَهُ اسْمَانِ أَوْ ثَلاَثَةٌ فَجَعَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏"‏ يَا فُلاَنُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُونَ مَهْ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ يَغْضَبُ مِنْ هَذَا الاِسْمِ فَأُنْزِلَتْ هَذِهِ الآيَةُ ‏{‏ وَلاَ تَنَابَزُوا بِالأَلْقَابِ ‏}‏ ‏.‏

Narrated AbuJubayrah ibn ad-Dahhak: This verse was revealed about us, the Banu Salimah: "Nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness (to be used of one) after he has believed." He said: When the apostle of Allah (ﷺ) came to us, every one of us had two or three names. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began to say: O so and so! But they would say: Keep silence, Messenger of Allah! He becomes angry by this name. So this verse was revealed: "Nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames

الثاني حفظ اللسان عن الهذبان والكذب والغيبة والنميمة والفحش والجفاء والخصومة والمراء وإلزامه السكوت وشغله بذكر الله سبحانه وتلاوة القرآن فهذا صوم اللسان

وأما العاصي بفعله وعمله لا باعتقاده فلا يخلو إما أن يكون بحيث يتأذى به غيره كالظلم و الغضب وشهادة الزور و الغيبة و التضريب بين الناس و المشي بالنميمة وأمثالها

القسم الأول وهو أشدها ما يتضرر به الناس كالظلم و الغصب وشهادة الزور و الغيبة و النميمة فهؤلاء الأولى الإعراض عنهم وترك مخالطتهم و الانقباض عن معاملتهم لأن المعصية شديدة فيما يرجع إلى إيذاء الخلق

غالبا بالمخالطة ويسلم منها في الخلوة وهي أربعة الغيبة والنميمة والرياء والسكوت عن الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر ومسارقة الطبع من الأخلاق الرديئة والأعمال الخبيثة التي يوجبها الحرص على الدنيا

ونحن الآن نعد آفات اللسان ونبتديء بأخفها ونترقى إلى الأغلظ قليلا ونؤخر الكلام في الغيبة والنميمة والكذب فإن النظر فيها أطول وهي عشرون آفة فاعلم ذلك ترشد بعون الله تعالى الآفة الأولى الكلام فيما لا يعنيك

فأما النميمة والغيبة والكذب وسب الوالدين فحرام بالاتفاق لما روي أنه كان بين خالد بن الوليد وسعد كلام فذكر رجل خالدا عند سعد فقال سعد مه إن ما بيننا لم يبلغ ديننا يعني أن يأثم بعضنا في بعض فلم يسمع السوء فكيف يجوز له أن يقوله

Something to talk about: Gossip increases oxytocin levels in a near real-life situation.: Gossip is a pervasive social behavior. Its evolutionary survival seems related to its social functions, such as establishing group rules, punishing trespassers, exercising social influence through reputational systems, and developing and strengthening social bonds. We aimed at evaluating the effect of gossip on hormones (oxytocin and cortisol) and at identifying potential mediators of hormonal response to gossip. Twenty-two female students were randomly assigned to a gossip conversation or to an

MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior.: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') releases serotonin and norepinephrine. MDMA is reported to produce empathogenic and prosocial feelings. It is unknown whether MDMA in fact alters empathic concern and prosocial behavior. We investigated the acute effects of MDMA using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), dynamic Face Emotion Recognition Task (FERT) and Social Value Orientation (SVO) test. We also assessed effects of MDMA on plasma levels of hormones involved in social behavior

Cochrane review: social skills groups for people aged 6 to 21 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).: Background: Since autism was first described, major difficulties in social interaction have been a defining feature of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Social skills groups are a common intervention for individuals with ASD. Although a frequently recommended practice, the few studies that have addressed the efficacy of social skills groups have shown mixed results. Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of social skills groups for improving social competence, social communic

The 'Flow' of compassion: A meta-analysis of the fears of compassion scales and psychological functioning.: This meta-analysis examined the associations between the fears of compassion and mental health. We extracted 19 studies reporting 154 effect sizes (Pearson's r) from 22 independent samples published during the last seven years, with data from 4723 participants. All studies used the Fears of Compassion Scales (FCS), which includes three subscales; fears of compassion for self, for others, and receiving from others. Specific mental health outcomes included: depression; anxiety; distress; and well-

Alleviating Social Pain: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Forgiveness and Acetaminophen.: Background: Research has suggested that physical pain (e.g., caused by injury) and social pain (e.g., caused by social rejection) are modulated by some of the same biological systems. Consequently, it is possible that acetaminophen, which is commonly used to alleviate physical pain through neurochemical pathways, may have social pain-relieving effects that interact with forgiveness, which reduces social pain through psychological pathways. To date, however, only a few studies have examined how e

The peptide that binds: a systematic review of oxytocin and its prosocial effects in humans.: Oxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in a wide variety of social behaviors in diverse species. Recent research on its effects in humans has generated an arresting picture of its role in the dynamic function of the social brain. This review presents a broad overview of this uniquely social peptide, with a particular focus on extant studies of its effects in humans. After a short discussion of the evolutionary history of the oxytocin system, critical aspects of its peripheral and central physiology

Heuristics guide the implementation of social preferences in one-shot Prisoner's Dilemma experiments.

Cooperation in one-shot anonymous interactions is a widely documented aspect of human behaviour. Here we shed light on the motivations behind this behaviour by experimentally exploring cooperation in a one-shot continuous-strategy Prisoner's Dilemma (i.e. one-shot two-player Public Goods Game). We examine the distribution of cooperation amounts, and how that distribution varies based on the benefit-to-cost ratio of cooperation (b/c). Interestingly, we find a trimodal distribution at all b/c values investigated. Increasing b/c decreases the fraction of participants engaging in zero cooperation and increases the fraction engaging in maximal cooperation, suggesting a role for efficiency concerns. However, a substantial fraction of participants consistently engage in 50% cooperation regardless of b/c. The presence of these persistent 50% cooperators is surprising, and not easily explained by…

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The development of prosocial moral reasoning and a prosocial orientation in young adulthood: concurrent and longitudinal correlates.

We examined stability and change in prosocial moral reasoning (PRM) assessed longitudinally at ages 20/21, 22/23, 24/25, 26/27, and 31/32 years (N = 32; 16 female) using a pencil-and-paper measure of moral reasoning and examined relations of PRM and prosocial behavior with one another and with empathy, sympathy measured with self- and friend reports in adulthood, self- and mother reports of prosocial tendencies in adolescence, and observed prosocial behavior in preschool. Proportions of different types of PRM (hedonistic, approval, stereotypic, internalized) exhibited high mean-level stability across early adulthood, although stereotypic PMR increased with age and hedonistic PRM (a less sophisticated type of PRM) declined over time for males. More sophisticated PMR was positively related to friends' reports of a prosocial orientation concurrently and at age 24/25, as well as self-reports…

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Rumination and perceived impairment associated with depressive symptoms in a verbal adolescent-adult ASD sample.

The aim of this study was to examine the association between depressive symptoms and several psychosocial constructs (insight into autism symptoms, rumination, desire for social interaction, and satisfaction with social support) that may play a role in the development or maintenance of depression in verbally fluent adolescents and adults with ASD. Participants included 50 individuals with ASD and verbal IQ ≥ 70, aged 16-35 (sample size varied by measure). Elevated depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition (BDI-II), were associated with greater self-perceived, autism-related impairments (n = 48), greater rumination (n = 21), and lower perceived social support (n = 37). Rumination tended to moderate the association between self-perceived autism symptoms and BDI-II scores (n = 21), and was significantly associated with ASD-related insistence on sameness behaviors (n …

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Functional outcomes of child and adolescent oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in young adult men.

Background: Oppositional defiant disorder(ODD) is considered to be a disorder of childhood, yet evidence suggests that prevalence rates of the disorder are stable into late adolescence and trajectories of symptoms persist into young adulthood. Functional outcomes associated with ODD through childhood and adolescence include conflict within families, poor peer relationships, peer rejection, and academic difficulties. Little examination of functional outcomes in adulthood associated with ODD has been undertaken. Method: Data for the present analyses come from a clinic referred sample of 177 boys aged 7-12 followed up annually to age 18 and again at age 24. Annual parental report of psychopathology through adolescence was used to predict self-reported functional outcomes at 24. Results: Controlling for parent reported symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Conduct diso…

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Social evolution in structured populations.

Understanding the evolution of social behaviours such as altruism and spite is a long-standing problem that has generated thousands of articles and heated debates. Previous theoretical studies showed that whether altruism and spite evolve may be contingent on seemingly artificial model features, such as which rule is chosen to update the population (for example, birth-death or death-birth), and whether the benefits and costs of sociality affect fecundity or survival. Here we unify these features in a single comprehensive framework. We derive a general condition for social behaviour to be favoured over non-social behaviour, which is applicable in a large class of models for structured populations of fixed size. We recover previous results as special cases, and we are able to evaluate the relative effects of benefits and costs of social interactions on fecundity and survival. Our results h…

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The evolution of fairness through spite.

The presence of apparently irrational fair play in the ultimatum game remains a focal point for studies in the evolution of social behaviour. We investigate the role of negative assortment in the evolution of fair play in the ultimatum game. Spite-social behaviour that inflicts harm with no direct benefit to the actor-can evolve when it is disproportionally directed at individuals playing different strategies. The introduction of negative assortment alters the dynamics in a way that increases the chance fairness evolves, but at a cost: spite also evolves. Fairness is usually linked to cooperation and prosocial behaviour, but this study shows that it may have evolutionary links to harmful antisocial behaviour.

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Social relationships and allostatic load in the MIDUS study.

Objective: This study examines how the social environment is related to allostatic load (AL), a multisystem index of biological risk. Method: A national sample of adults (N = 949) aged 34-84 rated their relationships with spouse, family, and friends at 2 time points 10 years apart. At the second time point, participants completed a biological protocol in which indices of autonomic, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic function were obtained and used to create an AL summary score. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the associations among 3 aspects of social relationships-social support, social negativity, and frequency of social contact-and AL. Results: Higher levels of spouse negativity, family negativity, friend contact, and network level contact were each associated with higher AL, and higher levels of spouse support were a…

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Interpersonal emotion regulation.

Contemporary emotion regulation research emphasizes intrapersonal processes such as cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, but people experiencing affect commonly choose not to go it alone. Instead, individuals often turn to others for help in shaping their affective lives. How and under what circumstances does such interpersonal regulation modulate emotional experience? Although scientists have examined allied phenomena such as social sharing, empathy, social support, and prosocial behavior for decades, there have been surprisingly few attempts to integrate these data into a single conceptual framework of interpersonal regulation. Here we propose such a framework. We first map a "space" differentiating classes of interpersonal regulation according to whether an individual uses an interpersonal regulatory episode to alter their own or another person's emotion. We then identify…

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Alexithymia decreases altruism in real social decisions.

Alexithymia, a sub-clinical personality construct associated with disturbances in affect regulation and social functioning, is known to be comorbid with a number of psychiatric conditions. We combined a distressing real-time altruism task with functional magnetic resonance imagining to explore the brain behaviour relationship between alexithymia and prosocial action. Here we show that individuals high on the alexithymia spectrum report less distress at seeing others in pain and behave less altruistically. This behavioural result is mirrored in the brain, where individuals who have difficulty recognizing and experiencing others' emotional distress have reduced neural activation within the anterior insula and temporoparietal junction, key regions in the experience of distress and perspective-taking.

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Black adolescents' relationships with natural mentors: associations with academic engagement via social and emotional development.

This study aimed to identify types of natural mentoring relationships that Black adolescents may experience and to connect these relationship types to academic outcomes via social and emotional development. Data were collected from 259 adolescents attending 3 middle schools in a Midwestern metropolitan area. Adolescents reported on whether or not they had a relationship with a natural mentor and answered several questions about characteristics of the relationship, as well as reporting on a number of indicators of positive development. Cluster analyses suggested two different types of natural mentoring relationships among study youth: less connected and more connected. We found that in comparison with youth without a natural mentor, youth who had a more connected natural mentoring relationship had greater student-reported academic engagement via higher social skills and psychological well…

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Cooperative behaviour and prosocial reputation dynamics in a Dominican village.

Prosocial reputations play an important role, from the evolution of language to Internet transactions; however, questions remain about their behavioural correlates and dynamics. Formal models assume prosocial reputations correlate with the number of cooperative acts one performs; however, if reputations flow through information networks, then the number of individuals one assists may be a better proxy. Formal models demonstrate indirect experience must track behaviour with the same fidelity as direct experience for reputations to become viable; however, research on corporate reputations suggests performance change does not always affect reputation change. Debate exists over the cognitive mechanisms employed for assessing reputation dynamics. Image scoring suggests reputations fluctuate relative to the number of times one fails to assist others in need, while standing strategy claims repu…

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Gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention.

Gratitude practice can be a catalyzing and relational healing force, often untapped in clinical practice. In this article, we provide an overview of current thinking about gratitude's defining and beneficial properties, followed by a brief review of the research on mental health outcomes that result from gratitude practice. Following an analysis of our case study of the use of gratitude as a psychotherapeutic intervention, we present various self-strategies and techniques for consciously choosing and cultivating gratitude. We conclude by describing ways in which gratitude might be capitalized upon for beneficial outcomes in therapeutic settings.

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Gaze avoidance in social anxiety disorder.

Background: The relationship between gaze avoidance and social anxiety has been examined previously using eye-tracking and static social images. Overall, findings to date highlight increased gaze avoidance as a behavioral marker of social anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to better elucidate the relationship between gaze avoidance and social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms via covert eye tracking of gaze tendencies in response to a dynamic computerized social interaction simulation. On the basis of the bivalent fear of evaluation (BFOE) model of social anxiety,([1]) it was expected that participants with SAD, compared to nonsocially anxious control (NSAC) participants, would exhibit gaze avoidance in response to both positive and negative social feedback. Methods: Participants with SAD (n = 20), and a sample of demographically equivalent NSAC (n = 19), were administered clini…

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Social encounter networks: characterizing Great Britain.

A major goal of infectious disease epidemiology is to understand and predict the spread of infections within human populations, with the intention of better informing decisions regarding control and intervention. However, the development of fully mechanistic models of transmission requires a quantitative understanding of social interactions and collective properties of social networks. We performed a cross-sectional study of the social contacts on given days for more than 5000 respondents in England, Scotland and Wales, through postal and online survey methods. The survey was designed to elicit detailed and previously unreported measures of the immediate social network of participants relevant to infection spread. Here, we describe individual-level contact patterns, focusing on the range of heterogeneity observed and discuss the correlations between contact patterns and other socio-demog…

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Profiling the "pro-environmental individual": a personality perspective.

There is considerable scientific interest in the psychological correlates of pro-environmental behaviors. Much research has focused on demographic and social-psychological characteristics of individuals who consistently perform such actions. Here, we report the results of 2 studies in which we explored relations between broad personality traits and pro-environmental actions. Using a wide variety of behavior and personality measures, we consistently found moderate positive relations between Openness to Experience and pro-environmental activities in both a community sample (Study 1: N = 778) and an undergraduate student sample (Study 2: N = 115). In Study 2, we showed that the effect of Openness on pro-environmental behaviors was fully mediated by individuals' environmental attitudes and connection to nature. Our findings suggest that high levels of aesthetic appreciation, creativity, and …

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Social encounter networks: collective properties and disease transmission.

A fundamental challenge of modern infectious disease epidemiology is to quantify the networks of social and physical contacts through which transmission can occur. Understanding the collective properties of these interactions is critical for both accurate prediction of the spread of infection and determining optimal control measures. However, even the basic properties of such networks are poorly quantified, forcing predictions to be made based on strong assumptions concerning network structure. Here, we report on the results of a large-scale survey of social encounters mainly conducted in Great Britain. First, we characterize the distribution of contacts, which possesses a lognormal body and a power-law tail with an exponent of -2.45; we provide a plausible mechanistic model that captures this form. Analysis of the high level of local clustering of contacts reveals additional structure w…

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The role of coping, resilience, and social support in mediating the relation between PTSD and social functioning in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Little research has examined variables that may mediate the relation between PTSD and aspects of social functioning, such as relationship satisfaction and family functioning. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 164 veterans who were seeking VA primary care or mental health care within one year after returning from Iraq and/or Afghanistan were screened for PTSD and completed a series of questionnaires that assessed social functioning, coping, and life satisfaction. Results showed that the 86 (52%) veterans who screened positive for PTSD reported greater difficulties in their relationships with romantic partners, less cohesion in their families, less social support, poorer social functioning, and lower life satisfaction compared to other treatment-s…

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Co-rumination mediates contagion of internalizing symptoms within youths' friendships.

Peer contagion of internalizing symptoms was examined within youths' friendships over 6 months. Children (Grades 3 and 5) and adolescents (Grades 7 and 9) paired in 274 reciprocal same-sex friendship dyads completed measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms, co-rumination, and self-disclosure. Depression contagion was present for all youth, and anxiety contagion was found in the sample of girls and older boys. Although normative self-disclosure did not mediate the contagion effects, co-rumination mediated the depression contagion effect for adolescents and the anxiety contagion effect in the sample of girls and older boys. Implications for interventions with youth at risk for developing internalizing symptoms are discussed.

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Social anxiety and eating disorder comorbidity: the role of negative social evaluation fears.

Social anxiety and eating disorders are highly comorbid. However, it is unknown how specific domains of social anxiety relate to disordered eating. We provide data on these relationships and investigate social appearance anxiety and fear of negative evaluation as potential vulnerabilities linking social anxiety with disordered eating. Specifically, we examined five domains of social anxiety: Social interaction anxiety, fear of scrutiny, fear of positive evaluation, fear of negative evaluation, and social appearance anxiety. Results indicated that social appearance anxiety predicted body dissatisfaction, bulimic symptoms, shape concern, weight concern, and eating concern over and above fear of scrutiny, social interaction anxiety, and fear of positive evaluation. Fear of negative evaluation uniquely predicted drive for thinness and restraint. Structural equation modeling supported a model…

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Peer relationships of bereaved siblings and comparison classmates after a child's death from cancer.

Objectives: To compare peer relationships among bereaved siblings and matched classmates, and to examine gender, grade level, and time since death as moderators. Methods: Families were recruited from cancer registries at four hospitals 3-12 months after a child's death. Measures of social behavior and peer acceptance were completed by children in the classrooms of 105 bereaved siblings (ages 8-17 years). Teachers also reported on children's social behavior. Three classmates were matched for gender, race, and age to each bereaved sibling to form a comparison group (n = 311). Results: Teachers reported bereaved siblings were more prosocial than comparison classmates. Peers perceived bereaved boys as more sensitive-isolated and victimized, while bereaved siblings in elementary grades were perceived by peers as less prosocial, more sensitive-isolated, less accepted, and as having fewer frien…

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An evaluation of a drama program to enhance social relationships and anti-bullying at elementary school: a controlled study.

Drama, theater and role-playing methods are commonly used in health promotion programs, but evidence of their effectiveness is limited. This paper describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a school-based drama program to enhance social relationships and decrease bullying at school in children in grades 4-5 (mean age of 10.4 years). Students (n = 190) were recruited from two primary schools with similar demographics and socio-economics in the Southern Finland and purposively allocated either to an intervention group or a control group. The drama program included classroom drama sessions, follow-up activities at home and three parents' evenings concerning issues of social well being during the school year September 2007-May 2008. Data on social relationships in the class room and experiences of bullying were obtained before and after the program using self-completed quest…

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So far away from one's partner, yet so close to romantic alternatives: avoidant attachment, interest in alternatives, and infidelity.

Temptation pervades modern social life, including the temptation to engage in infidelity. The present investigation examines one factor that may put individuals at a greater risk of being unfaithful to their partner: dispositional avoidant attachment style. The authors hypothesize that avoidantly attached people may be less resistant to temptations for infidelity due to lower levels of commitment in romantic relationships. This hypothesis was confirmed in 8 studies. People with high, vs. low, levels of dispositional avoidant attachment had more permissive attitudes toward infidelity (Study 1), showed attentional bias toward attractive alternative partners (Study 2), expressed greater daily interest in meeting alternatives to their current relationship partner (Study 5), perceived alternatives to their current relationship partner more positively (Study 6), and engaged in more infidelity …

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Self-compassion and relationship maintenance: the moderating roles of conscientiousness and gender.

Should intimates respond to their interpersonal mistakes with self-criticism or with self-compassion? Although it is reasonable to expect self-compassion to benefit relationships by promoting self-esteem, it is also reasonable to expect self-compassion to hurt relationships by removing intimates' motivation to correct their interpersonal mistakes. Two correlational studies, 1 experiment, and 1 longitudinal study demonstrated that whether self-compassion helps or hurts relationships depends on the presence versus absence of dispositional sources of the motivation to correct interpersonal mistakes. Among men, the implications of self-compassion were moderated by conscientiousness. Among men high in conscientiousness, self-compassion was associated with greater motivation to correct interpersonal mistakes (Studies 1 and 3), observations of more constructive problem-solving behaviors (Study …

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The effects of general and homophobic victimization on adolescents' psychosocial and educational concerns: the importance of intersecting identities and parent support.

Many adolescents experience peer victimization, which often can be homophobic. Applying the minority stress model with attention to intersecting social identities, this study tested the effects of general and homophobic victimization on several educational outcomes through suicidality and school belonging among 15,923 adolescents in Grades 7 through 12 on account of their sexual orientation and race/ethnicity. Parent support also was tested as a moderator of these effects. Homophobic victimization had different effects on suicidality across groups, indicating the importance of considering individuals' multiple social identities. However, homophobic victimization had universal negative effects on school belonging for all groups. Nearly all indirect effects of general and homophobic victimization on reported grades, truancy, and importance of graduating were significant through suicidality…

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Longitudinal patterns of social functioning and conversion to psychosis in subjects at ultra-high risk.

Objective: Impaired social functioning is one of the defining features of patients with schizophrenia and subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. This prospective study aimed to investigate the course of social dysfunction in UHR subjects and to examine its relationship with later conversion to psychosis. The effect of pharmacotherapy on the course of social dysfunction was also examined. Method: A total of 57 UHR subjects and 58 healthy controls participated in this study. The Social Functioning Scale (SFS) was used to assess social functioning of UHR subjects at baseline and at the 1 year follow up. The changes in social functioning of UHR subjects have been examined to compare the social functioning of those who later converted to psychosis ('converters') with those who did not ('non-converters'). The effect of pharmacotherapy on longitudinal change in social functioning was …

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