SPRING CONFERENCE
The Impact of
Relationships
on Individual Variation
Schedule
April 17-18, 2010
SATURDAY • April 17, 2010
Moderator - Margaret Donley, MSW
8:15
Registration
8:50
Welcome and Introduction
9:00
Variation in Sociability: Genetic and Nongenetic Family Influences
Lynn Fairbanks, PhD
Research with vervet monkeys illustrates the complex ways the family can influence individual differences in the ability to initiate, attract, and maintain social relationships
9:20 Using Maternal Style or Differentiation of Self to Explore Variation in Functioning of Offspring Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
Many studies investigating maternal behavior in primates and humans employ typologies of maternal styles to investigate variation in offspring functioning. Bowen theory offers a potentially robust alternative, using the concept of differentiation of self.
9:40
Variation in Early Face-to-Face Interactions in Rhesus Monkey Mother-Infant Dyads Stephen J. Suomi, PhD
Rhesus monkey infants engage in extensive face-to-face interactions with their mothers during their first 3 weeks of life, after which these interactions largely disappear. Variation in the nature and frequency of these interactions appears to have significant long-term consequences for social-emotional development.
10:00 Discussion Devra Kleiman, PhD
10:30
Coffee
11:00 Variation as the Foundation of Permanence in Symbiotic Associations Mary Beth Saffo, PhD
Many of the most widespread, ecologically important, and evolutionarily successful symbioses are also variable ones, showing genomic variation among the symbionts even in single symbiotic partnerships; modulation of partners and interactions among partners in changing environmental conditions; and evolutionary changes over time. In what ways might such "impermanence" be a key to long-term persistence in many symbiotic associations?
11:20
Variation in Emotional Reactivity in Harvester Ants
LeAnn Howard, MSW, MA
Harvester ant colonies that are more flexible in the management of reactivity are more robust in survival, productivity, and reproduction.
11:40 Behavioral Diversity in an Insect Society
Raghavendra Gadagkar, PhD
This presentation will use the primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata, and describe the novel ways of measuring inter-individual variation in behavior. Implications of behavioral diversity for social evolution will be discussed.
12:00
Discussion
Michael E. Kerr, MD
12:30
Lunch Break
Moderator - Kathleen B. Kerr, MSN, MA
2:00 The Ultra-Modern Synthesis Michael E. Kerr, MD
The Modern Synthesis is the basis for most current work in evolutionary biology. Bowen theory, by describing relationship patterns in human families that powerfully affect individual functioning and that appear to be identical with patterns and processes in other species, can sufficiently shape thinking in evolutionary biology to merit an update of the Modern Synthesis.
2:40 Discussion
Mary Beth Saffo, PhD and Lynn Fairbanks, PhD
3:00
Break
3:20 Contribution of Nuclear Family Triangles to Variation in Physiological Reactivity
Victoria Harrison, MA
Physiological reactivity associated with anxiety reactions and symptoms for all five members of one nuclear family are examined in light of patterns of involvement between parents and children in what Bowen theory describes as emotional triangles.
3:40 The Transgenerational Influence of Social Experiences: Implications for the Brain and Behavior
Frances Champagne, PhD
Research using a variety of animal models suggests that there may be an “inheritance” of variations in behavior induced by the quality of the social environment. Epigenetics may play a role in mediating the effects of parents on offspring and grand-offspring.
4:00 Physiological Mediators in Family Emotional Process
Robert J. Noone, PhD
Family emotional process entails automatic behavioral patterns which contribute to variation in the functioning of individuals throughout life and the generations that follow. Physiological variables may also be involved in this process.
4:20 Discussion
Esther Sternberg, MD
4:45
Adjournment
SUNDAY • APRIL 18, 2010
Moderator - Robert J. Noone, PhD
9:00 Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being Esther Sternberg, MD
The science of the mind-body connection explains how stress can make one sick, how belief can help healing, and how the social world affects health. The physical environment, through each of the senses, can affect emotions negatively or positively by triggering the central nervous system’s stress or relaxation pathways.
9:20 Mind-Body Medicine, Relationship Systems, and Chronic Disease Michael D. Lumpkin, PhD
Results from modern studies in psychoneuroimmunology and neuroendocrinology help to explain the mechanisms by which chronic stress of disordered relationship systems lead to persistent disease states.
9:40 Differentiation and Symptoms in Adolescence Cynthia Larkby, PhD
Adverse experiences in childhood have long been associated with symptoms of poor functioning in adolescence and adulthood. Differentiation of self may attenuate this association.
10:00 Discussion
Jeffrey A. French, PhD
10:30 Coffee
11:00 How Do Individuals Turn Out Differently in Terms of Emotional Reactivity?
Daniel V. Papero, PhD, MSW
Individuals within a family unit vary in their emotionally reactive response to a given stimulus. One person’s response may be highly charged and intense; another’s less so. This talk will hypothesize about how such variability develops in the members of a given family or social unit.
11:20 The Evolution of Hormonal Mechanisms for Human Sociability Mark Flinn, PhD
Hormonal mechanisms are crucial to several critical issues in human evolution: our sensitivity to the social environment, our extended kin networks including grandparents, and our stable mating relationships.
11:40 Implications of Bowen's Societal Regression Hypothesis for the Study of Human Behavior Patricia A. Comella, JD
This presentation will explore the link between human behavior and functioning described in Bowen theory and possible biological underpinnings of response to sustained chronic stress as described in Bowen's hypothesis concerning societal regression.
12:00 Discussion
Barbara Smuts, PhD
12:30 Lunch Break
Moderator - Patricia A. Comella, JD
2:00 Presentation of the Caskie Research Award Michael E. Kerr, MD and Ruth Riley Sagar, MA
2:15 Fighting without Biting: The Canine Art of Conflict Management
Barbara Smuts, PhD
Dogs interact using a rich repertoire of ritualized signals, expressive behaviors, and mutually choreographed movement patterns. Videotaped interactions illustrate how these forms of communication are used to manage anxiety and negotiate conflicts.
2:35 How Triangles Influence Variation in Sibling Relationships Margaret Donley, MSW
Research on sibling relationships provides a platform to study the family as an emotional system. The concept of the triangle illuminates how the family system influences the quality of sibling relationships.
2:55 Development of Primates in a Family Context Jeffrey A. French, PhD
Social development in marmoset monkeys occurs in the context of rich and highly variable care giving by mothers, fathers, and older siblings. This variation in early care translates into important differences in somatic and reproductive development and stress reactivity.
3:15 Discussion
Mark Flinn, PhD and Michael E. Kerr, MD
3:45Adjournment
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