Frontal Lobe Theta Activity in Socially Ostracized Individuals: Understanding Social Ostracism through EEG
01 Jan 2014-
TL;DR: This article used a chat room paradigm to examine the effects of social ostracism on theta EEG activity in the frontal lobe and found that participants reported significantly lowered enjoyment, interest, participation, and overall engagement during exclusion, while EEG data showed a non-significant trend for lowered theta power during exclusion that did not reach significance.
Abstract: The present study used a chat room paradigm to examine the effects of social ostracism on theta EEG activity in the frontal lobe. Participants were placed in an online chat room with two other individuals whose chat room profiles indicated they were both the opposite gender of the participant and attending other universities in central Illinois. Unknown to participants, these individuals were actually confederates in the study, and the pictures used on these profiles had previously been rated as either attractive or unattractive by college students. This experiment consisted of three primary phases. In the first phase, confederates actively included the participant in the chat room conversation. In the second phase, the participant was completely ignored (social ostracism manipulation). Confederates re-included the participant in the last phase of the chat room conversation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate variables that may influence the experience of social ostracism, such as gender and attractiveness of the ostracizing students. Results indicated that the ostracism manipulation was successful, with participants reporting significantly lowered enjoyment, interest, participation, and overall engagement during exclusion, while EEG data showed a non-significant trend for lowered theta power during exclusion that did not reach significance. Attractiveness of ostracizing peers played a role in the chat room experience, with participants reporting greater engagement with unattractive peers and male participants showing a larger difference in engagement between attractiveness conditions. In addition, there was a significant interaction between phase and attractiveness condition in theta EEG activity. No gender main effects were documented in self report or EEG data. Future research is needed to continue to examine the roles that gender and attractiveness play in social ostracism.
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21 Jul 2018
TL;DR: In this paper, a literature review of emotional responses and stress attributable to cyberbullying is presented and the need for future research exploring how people momentarily cope or deal with cyber-bullying events is suggested as a means of providing a temporal prediction of cyber bullying incidents.
Abstract: This article presents a literature review of emotional responses and stress attributable to cyberbullying. It begins with a summary of the definition of cyberbullying and then describes types of cyberbullying and the emotional reactions it can produce. Next, theoretical background studies relevant to cyberbullying are discussed. Findings indicate that most previous research used transactional model theory as a valid measure. However, this review draws attention to reliance on variations in stress and emotional state. Finally, the need for future research exploring how people momentarily cope or deal with cyberbullying events is suggested as a means of providing a temporal prediction of cyberbullying incidents.
5 citations
01 Jan 2018
5 citations
Additional excerpts
..., cyberball (Williams & Jarvis, 2006), chat-rooms (Cohen & Prinstein, 2006; Kern, 2011; Wendi et al., 2000; Whitaker, 2014; Williams, Cheung, et al., 2000), roleplaying (Kassner et al....
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...These include cyberball (e.g., cyberball (Williams & Jarvis, 2006), chat-rooms (Cohen & Prinstein, 2006; Kern, 2011; Wendi et al., 2000; Whitaker, 2014; Williams, Cheung, et al., 2000), roleplaying (Kassner et al., 2012) and online-ostracism paradigm (Wolf et al., 2015))....
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...…were used to study cyberbullying in the lab (e.g., cyberball (Williams & Jarvis, 2006), chat-rooms (Cohen & Prinstein, 2006; Kern, 2011; Wendi et al., 29 2000; Whitaker, 2014; Williams, Cheung, et al., 2000), role-playing (Kassner et al., 2012) and online-ostracism paradigm (Wolf et al., 2015))....
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References
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TL;DR: A neuroimaging study examined the neural correlates of social exclusion and tested the hypothesis that the brain bases of social pain are similar to those of physical pain, suggesting that RVPFC regulates the distress of socialclusion by disrupting ACC activity.
Abstract: A neuroimaging study examined the neural correlates of social exclusion and tested the hypothesis that the brain bases of social pain are similar to those of physical pain. Participants were scanned while playing a virtual ball-tossing game in which they were ultimately excluded. Paralleling results from physical pain studies, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was more active during exclusion than during inclusion and correlated positively with self-reported distress. Right ventral prefrontal cortex (RVPFC) was active during exclusion and correlated negatively with self-reported distress. ACC changes mediated the RVPFC-distress correlation, suggesting that RVPFC regulates the distress of social exclusion by disrupting ACC activity.
3,188 citations
"Frontal Lobe Theta Activity in Soci..." refers background in this paper
...Although some degree of ostracism is part of life for most humans, it is nonetheless a highly negative experience (Bastian & Haslam, 20 1 0; Boyes & French, 2009; Eisenberger, Lieberman, and Williams, 2003 ; Kawamoto et aI., 20 1 2)....
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01 Jan 1972
TL;DR: The present results indicate a "what is beautiful is good" stereotype along the physical attractiveness dimension with no Sex of Judge X Sex of Stimulus interaction, which has implications on self-concept development and the course of social interaction.
Abstract: A person's physical appearance, along with his sexual identity, is the personal characteristic that is most obvious and accessible to others in social interaction. The present experiment was designed to determine whether physically attractive stimulus persons, both male and female, are (a) assumed to possess more socially desirable personality traits than physically unattractive stimulus persons and (6) expected to lead better lives (e.g., be more competent husbands and wives, be more successful occupationally, etc.) than unattractive stimulus persons. Sex of Subject X Sex of Stimulus Person interactions along these dimensions also were investigated. The present results indicate a "what is beautiful is good" stereotype along the physical attractiveness dimension with no Sex of Judge X Sex of Stimulus interaction. The implications of such a stereotype on self-concept development and the course of social interaction are discussed.
3,148 citations
2,995 citations
TL;DR: These findings provide direct experimental evidence in humans linking frontal-lobe limbic activity with pain affect, as originally suggested by early clinical lesion studies.
Abstract: Recent evidence demonstrating multiple regions of human cerebral cortex activated by pain has prompted speculation about their individual contributions to this complex experience. To differentiate cortical areas involved in pain affect, hypnotic suggestions were used to alter selectively the unpleasantness of noxious stimuli, without changing the perceived intensity. Positron emission tomography revealed significant changes in pain-evoked activity within anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with the encoding of perceived unpleasantness, whereas primary somatosensory cortex activation was unaltered. These findings provide direct experimental evidence in humans linking frontal-lobe limbic activity with pain affect, as originally suggested by early clinical lesion studies.
2,444 citations
TL;DR: Evidence suggesting that the anterior cingulate cortex plays a key role in the physical-social pain overlap is reviewed and it is suggested that the physical and social pain circuitry might share components of a broader neural alarm system.
1,022 citations