Social hierarchy is associated with various phenotypes. Although memory is known to be important for hierarchy formation, the difference in memory abilities between dominant and subordinate individuals remains unclear. In this study, we examined memory performance in mice with different social ranks and found better memory abilities in dominant mice, along with greater long-term potentiation and higher memory-related gene expression in the hippocampus. Daily injection of memory-improving drugs could also enhance dominance. To validate this correlation across species, through inventory, behavioral and event-related potential studies, we identified better memory abilities in preschool children with higher social dominance. Better memory potentially helped children process dominance facial cues and learn social strategies to acquire higher positions. Our study shows a remarkable similarity between humans and mice in the association between memory and social hierarchy and provides valuable insight into social interactions in young animals, with potential implications for preschool education.

Social hierarchy plays important roles in maintaining social structures. Despite similarity in concept, frameworks of human hierarchy have seldom been investigated in parallel with other animals. Moreover, the importance of subordination in hierarchical formation has been largely underestimated in previous research. Here we established, compared, and investigated hierarchy in children and weanling mice. Temperament assessments suggested that children who are less persistent, low emotional intensity, and withdrew easily were more likely to be subordinate in competitive scenarios independent of task characteristics and interaction experiences. The tube test further showed that conflicts between mice were not resolved by winner approach but by loser withdrawal, which was mainly determined by intrinsic subordinate status regardless of opponents. Our study presents evolutionary conserved hierarchical relationships in young and a critical role of the intrinsic subordinate characteristics in hierarchical determination. These findings provide a new perspective on social interactions with potential implications for preschool education.

Parenting is known to impact children's executive function (EF) skills. However, nearly all the evidence comes from analyses of mother-child interaction. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Child Development and Care Database in Taiwan, the relations between both mother-child and father-child interaction and 3-year-olds' EF were investigated in 2,164 families. The results showed that mothers interacted with their children differently from fathers in terms of time distribution. Mothers were more equally involved in all aspects of parental involvement, whereas fathers spent more time in play. In addition, both mother-child and father-child play contributed to children's EF; however, the mediating effect of child motor skills was more prominent for father-child play. This study not only suggests a potential distinct and complementary role of fathers in young children's EF development but also indicates a unique mediating effect of motor skills in the path from parent-child play to child EF. Implications for parent education are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Animals exhibit a wide range of social behaviors, including positive actions that promote social cohesion and negative behaviors associated with asserting dominance. While these behaviors are often viewed as opposites, they can also exist independently or coexist in complex ways, necessitating further investigation into their interrelationships. Results: To study the interplay between these two types of behaviors, we examined mouse social behaviors using resident-intruder assays and revealed a negative correlation between social aggression and prosocial allogrooming. Suppressing aggressive motivation through various manipulations, including social subordination, olfaction ablation, and inhibition of aggressive neural circuits, led to an increased display of allogrooming behavior. The mouse findings prompted us to further explore the relationship between aggression and prosocial behaviors in preschool children. Similarly, we observed a negative association between aggression and prosocial behaviors, which were potentially influenced by their inhibitory control abilities. Conclusions: Through this cross-species study, we uncovered the inhibitory impact of aggressive neural circuits on mouse allogrooming and established a link between aggression and prosocial behaviors in children. These insights offer valuable implications for understanding and potentially influencing social interactions in both animal and human contexts, with potential applications in preschool education practices.