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
Background - The Generalised Unsafety Theory of Stress, a novel stress explanation, considers the stress response as a default mode of the body, which is always active independently from stressors...Show moreBackground - The Generalised Unsafety Theory of Stress, a novel stress explanation, considers the stress response as a default mode of the body, which is always active independently from stressors unless it is inhibited based on perceiving safety. GUTS suggests there are compromised domains where stress is chronically released despite a lack of clear stressors, and the organism is unable to inhibit the stress mechanism mostly because of perceiving generalised unsafety around. One of these compromised domains is believed to be urban environments as they cannot provide sufficient signs of safety, and they mainly consist property of strangers. Natural environments in contrast are believed to provide signs of safety and therefore decrease stress levels. Using meta-analysis, this current research aimed to find and summarize evidence from existing studies reporting that urban environments are associated with increased levels of stress, Method - In total, 12 studies, collected from Web of Science database, were included in six meta-analyses conducted on heart rate variability (high frequency, low frequency/high frequency), saliva cortisol, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and heart rate data of healthy adult participants during and after exposure to urban and natural environments. Results - Statistically significant increased heart rate was found after a walk in the urban environment (g = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.20; 0.50, p <0.0001). High frequency heart rate variability was significantly lower after an urban walk(unknown baseline balance group: g = -0.33, 95% CI: -0.55; -0.11; baseline balanced: g = -2.52, 95% CI: -3.25; -1.78). Low frequency heart rate variability was significantly higher during the urban walk (unknown baseline balance group: g = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.49; 1.80; baseline balanced: g = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.78; 3.26). Subgroup analyses and funnel plots for heart rate variability showed a possible small-study effect in the baseline balanced groups. Blood pressure and cortisol measurements showed no significant effect and were ambiguous because of high heterogeneity and small number of included studies. Conclusions - Heart rate variability and heart rate measures indicated a higher stress level in urban than in natural environments providing an example of prolonged stress without stressors, explainable by GUTS. For blood pressure and cortisol no such evidence was provided. However, the results should be carefully interpreted because of high between-study heterogeneity and other limitations of these studies. Further research into stress measurements and effects of natural and urban environment on stress are required to provide reliable evidence.Show less
