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
People who score high on social anxiety measures tend to interpret social cues negatively and evaluate negative interpretations of social scenarios as more likely. The aim of this research is to...Show morePeople who score high on social anxiety measures tend to interpret social cues negatively and evaluate negative interpretations of social scenarios as more likely. The aim of this research is to fill the gap in the literature about potential interference of cognitive biases in social anxiety with a probabilistic learning paradigm in a social evaluative environment. The current study sampled participants along the social anxiety spectrum and used the SELF-Profile paradigm to make participants believe that they were evaluated on characteristics about themselves that they endorsed at an earlier point. Data of 19 healthy female undergraduates across the social anxiety spectrum was used (Mage (in years) = 19.90, SE = 1.57). Before every trial of the experiment participants needed to indicate their expectation of being accepted by one of four participant-chosen peers based on a personal statement. Participants received immediate acceptance or rejection feedback from the peer which, unknowing to the participant, had a predetermined probability of giving acceptance feedback on 15%, 30%, 70% or 85% of the trials. Scoring lower on the self-report social anxiety measure (LSAS) was significantly associated with more positive predictions for the positive peer but not significantly correlated with negative predictions for the negative peer. Neither reaction times with the respective peers (positive or negative) nor the overall pre-task expectation of receiving acceptance feedback were significantly associated with the self-reported social anxiety score in our sample. Furthermore, we could not identify a significant effect of self-reported social anxiety scores on the amount of recalled acceptance feedback from the negative and positive peer, respectively. Future studies should investigate gender-effects and include psychophysiological measurements to circumvent social desirability and other self-report biases.Show less
