Research evidence on social anxiety (SA) argues that repetitive negative social interactions over time contribute to an increased fear and expectancy of negative evaluations. However, current...Show moreResearch evidence on social anxiety (SA) argues that repetitive negative social interactions over time contribute to an increased fear and expectancy of negative evaluations. However, current research gaps remain regarding the specific factors that may impact the expectancy of negative evaluations in SA. More specifically, age and maladaptive emotional regulation strategies, such as self-blame have yet to be explored as moderators of the relationship between SA and negative expectations of performance. The present study aimed to examine factors contributing to the pessimism bias observed in SA individuals in a probabilistic learning task with a total of 255 male and female participants aged 12 to 29 years. The learning task examined whether participants would learn from the exposure to negative or positive feedback and showcase an increase in their negative or positive expectations respectively. Participants completed a personality questionnaire from which we created a social profile for them. They were shown a set of same-gender peers’ profiles and were asked to indicate the profiles they liked the most to derive their top four. Participants were told their top four choices had also rated their profiles. During the learning task, they were asked to indicate whether they expected to be liked or disliked based on each statement on their profile for each peer specifically. Immediately after each statement rating, they were shown the peers’ actual feedback. The task was set on specific probabilities of giving positive, negative, or neutral feedback to the participants. Participants’ age, self-reported SA levels, and self-blame tendencies were examined as potential contributing factors to increased negative feedback expectancy. Results showed that participants with higher reports of SA illustrated higher negative feedback expectancies across all trials. Overall, across all participants, negative feedback expectancies increased significantly in trials with the most negative peer compared to trials with the most positive peer. Similarly, across all participants, positive feedback expectancies decreased significantly in trials with the most negative peer compared to the most positive peer. Furthermore, adult participants reported higher levels of SA. Results showed that increased SA was a significant predictor of increased self-blame tendencies. Interestingly, self-blame was found to be a significant moderating variable in the relationship between SA and negative feedback expectancies across all trials. These results may be considered promising evidence for alternate future research directions and treatment interventions for the pessimism bias observed in SA individuals.Show less
Despite strong evidence emphasising the importance and benefits of trust in social interactions, little is known about the factors that can impact trust and trust learning during adolescence....Show moreDespite strong evidence emphasising the importance and benefits of trust in social interactions, little is known about the factors that can impact trust and trust learning during adolescence. Learning whom to trust is influenced by prior beliefs about how others will respond. For example, when trust is reciprocated, showing trust may support positive social interactions and help create bonds with others. This means that for individuals to have successful social interactions, it is essential to learn to adapt to the behaviour of others and to adjust their level of trust to others’ trustworthiness. Sex is an important factor explaining behaviour in social interactions, however only few studies have focused directly on sex differences in trust and trust learning in adolescence. This study investigates sex differences in trust and trust learning using a trust game. One hundred and fifty-seven adolescents, ranging in age from 10 to 24 years old, played a series of trust games in a trustworthy and in an untrustworthy environment to measure their trust learning performance. The findings indicate no statistically significant sex differences in basic trust and no statistically significant differences in the trust learning performances between trustworthy and untrustworthy environments. Due to the existence of multiple other sex differences, it is easy to categorize and think that girls are more similar to each other, and that boys and girls are different from one another. The current findings show a need for caution in discussing between-groups differences. Even if girls and boys have different approaches in their social interactions, our findings show that, in basic trust and trust learning, they are similar. A sex-informed perspective can expand the relevance of psychological research; however, it should be interpreted with extreme caution, avoiding speculation that could perpetuate sex stereotypes.Show less
Social anxiety is associated with expecting and experiencing more rejection. However, much is still unknown about learning to expect social feedback. 68 female participants engaged in the Social...Show moreSocial anxiety is associated with expecting and experiencing more rejection. However, much is still unknown about learning to expect social feedback. 68 female participants engaged in the Social Evaluative Learning through Feedback Profile task, based on which we mapped out cardiac and expectation markers of social anxiety. In this task, four peers differed in their probability of giving rejecting feedback (i.e., 85, 70, 30, and 15 %) on statements about the participant, and participants predict whether the peer will accept or reject them. To estimate learning, participants’ predictions are grouped based on the peer’s dominant response. Heart rate (HR) slowing is measured for each stimulus using interbeat intervals. We calculated high-frequency resting heart rate variability (HRV), and the Liebowitz social anxiety scale was used as a screener. Multilevel models predicted HR slowing, and learning to predict peer feedback. Our analysis shows that HR slowing after unexpected rejection decreases over the course of the experiment. For the most accepting peer, higher social anxiety is associated with more HR slowing for unexpected rejection, and less HR slowing for expected rejection. For the most rejecting peer, there seems to be an opposite effect. Classification of all peers became more accurate over time. We found a weak negative correlation between resting HRV and social anxiety. We conclude that there are slight differences in HR slowing associated with higher social anxiety. The current findings help practitioners understand cardiac and emotional responses to social learning based on feedback and can aid researchers’ understanding of social anxiety.Show less
Although Social Anxiety is well-understood, the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still under debate. Recent research suggests that Frontal Midline Theta power level expression seems...Show moreAlthough Social Anxiety is well-understood, the neural mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still under debate. Recent research suggests that Frontal Midline Theta power level expression seems indicative of the emotional processing of social evaluative feedback. However, it is still unclear what pattern this FM-theta expression follows in Socially Anxious individuals. The FM-theta power responses to social evaluative feedback in Rejection Sensitive people is not investigated thoroughly yet, although recent research points to a clear increase in FM-theta power in responses to unexpected rejection. In the current study, utilizing a social evaluative learning task, we tested whether the construct Rejection Sensitivity could influence the relationship between social anxiety and FM theta power expression in 12 female participants. Social feedback was provided by peers who provided positive social feedback in fixed numbers, creating Peer 1 who would provide positive social feedback in 85% of trials and Peer 4, who would provide positive social feedback in 15% of trials. We also examined which coping mechanisms are utilized more often in both Socially Anxious and Rejection Sensitive population (e.g. self-blaming, other blaming, catastrophizing, rumination, acceptance, refocusing, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective). Correlation analyses revealed a strong negative correlation between Rejection Sensitivity and FM-theta level expression in unexpected rejection by Peer 1, whereby lower FM-theta levels were associated with higher Rejection Sensitivity. A large, positive and significant correlation between receiving unexpected rejection and unexpected acceptance by Peer 4 was observed. Unfortunately, the main question about the influence of Rejection Sensitivity on the relationship between Social Anxiety and FM-theta power as a response to social evaluative feedback, could not be answered due to methodological issues related to a small sample size. These issues also led the analysis of coping mechanisms to be invalid and therefore no results are indicative as to which coping mechanisms are utilized more often. Finally, FM-theta band activity seems to be a servicing as a reactive error correcting mechanism, which might lead to clear responses in Rejection Sensitive people, but not necessary in Socially Anxious individuals, who suffer more from anticipating fears. Therefore, it seems somewhat unsure whether FM theta is completely suitable for the investigation of emotional processing within Socially Anxious people. It is advised for future studies to include a larger sample.Show less
Social rejection is conceptualized as a threat to survival, yet the physiological mechanisms at work during social rejection have not received much attention. Prior research has shown a link...Show moreSocial rejection is conceptualized as a threat to survival, yet the physiological mechanisms at work during social rejection have not received much attention. Prior research has shown a link between heart rate changes and social rejection and the possible correlation of self-esteem levels to heart rate changes. Here we examined the effect of positive and negative peer feedback on heart rate changes of participants. Fifty participants (mean age = 20.4) took part in the newly developed social evaluation through feedback (SELF)- paradigm where they predicted, then received social evaluative feedback from four peers who differed in their probability of giving social acceptance versus rejection feedback. We hypothesized that social rejection would result in a transient slowing of heart rate and that this effect would be more prominent with unexpected social rejection. We also expected to find a significant difference in heart rate changes towards each different peer. Moreover, we expected self-esteem to influence heart rate reactions to feedback. As predicted, results revealed a more pronounced deceleration of heart rate during unexpected rejection, though this effect was also found with unexpected social acceptance. Difference in heart rate in response to feedback from each different peers was found, namely a transient slowing of heart rate for negative feedback from Peer 1 and positive feedback from Peer 4. Moreover, levels of self-esteem did not explain a significant amount of variance in heart rate changes. Future research should focus on a larger and more diverse sample size in order to confirm the current findings. This study added to current literature by again confirming a brake in heart rate during unexpected social rejection and by finding new results in heart rate during unexpected social acceptance from a more negative peer.Show less
Midfrontal EEG oscillations in the theta (4-8 Hz) band reflect a threat-detection mechanism, which might work differently in individuals with fear of negative evaluation (FNE) due to attentional...Show moreMidfrontal EEG oscillations in the theta (4-8 Hz) band reflect a threat-detection mechanism, which might work differently in individuals with fear of negative evaluation (FNE) due to attentional biases. This study aimed to examine FM theta reactivity to social-evaluation in a probabilistic feedback learning experiment, and possible biased learning processes in individuals with FNE, a hallmark feature in social anxiety. Additionally, the current study explored the possible mediating role of FM theta power in the relationship between FNE and emotion regulation. Fifty-nine undergraduate students (mean age = 20.5 years) participated in the newly developed SELF-profile paradigm. The participants received social rejection or acceptance feedback by (predominantly positive and negative) peers, which was either congruent or incongruent with prior expectations. Results revealed that unexpected peer feedback, regardless of the valence (acceptance or rejection), elicited a significant increase in FM theta power, as did feedback from the most negative peer. No association between FM theta power and FNE was found, and FM theta power did not mediate the relationship between FNE and emotion regulation (positive reappraisal or rumination). Behaviourally, participants had more difficulties in learning the probability of acceptance feedback for the negative peer than the positive peer. Individuals with FNE were slower in predicting acceptance feedback for the most positive peer, and felt more rejected after the experiment. Together, the results provided evidence that individuals with higher FNE seemed to display increased negative affect after receiving feedback and an attention bias towards threat. Furthermore, FM theta power seemed to reflect uncertainty-driven exploration.Show less
