Faculty of Psychology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria; Faculty of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Neuroscience. 2021 Jun 1;464:12-25. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.09.025. Epub 2020 Sep 17.
Social rewards represent a strong driving force behind decisions and behaviors. Previous research suggests that the processing of a reward depends on the initial state of the individual. However, empirical research in humans on the influence of motivational states on reward processing is scant, especially for rewards of social nature. In the present study, we aimed at investigating how aversive and appetitive motivation affects the processing of social rewards, such as interpersonal touch. Participants (n = 102) were assigned to an appetitive (positive) or aversive (negative) motivational state condition (via modified versions of the Trier Social Stress Test) or to a control condition. After the state induction, their (a) self-reports of wanting and liking, (b) effort, and (c) hedonic facial reactions during anticipation and consumption of interpersonal touch, were measured. Participants in the aversive group showed higher subjective wanting of interpersonal touch, but no changes in subjective liking, compared to the control group. The aversive group also showed stronger positive hedonic facial reactions during reward anticipation, reflecting stronger anticipatory pleasure. No significant effects were found for the appetitive group. The results indicate that, after being exposed to an aversive experience, the motivation to obtain interpersonal touch, as well as the associated anticipatory pleasure, increase, without a corresponding change in liking during or after its consumption. The findings point to differential state-dependent effects on the processing of social rewards, possibly due to the action of different neurobiological systems regulating reward anticipation and consumption.
社会奖励是决策和行为的强大驱动力。先前的研究表明，奖励的处理取决于个体的初始状态。然而，关于动机状态对奖励处理的影响的人类实证研究很少，尤其是对于社会性质的奖励。在本研究中，我们旨在研究厌恶和渴望动机如何影响社会奖励的处理，例如人际触摸。参与者（n=102）被分配到渴望（积极）或厌恶（消极）动机状态条件（通过修改版的特里尔社会压力测试）或控制条件。在状态诱导后，测量他们在人际触摸的预期和消费期间（a）自我报告的想要和喜欢，（b）努力，和（c）愉悦的面部反应。与对照组相比，厌恶组表现出更高的人际触摸主观渴望，但主观喜欢没有变化。厌恶组在奖励预期期间也表现出更强的积极愉悦面部反应，反映出更强的预期愉悦。在渴望组中没有发现显著的影响。结果表明，在经历了厌恶体验后，获得人际触摸的动机以及相关的预期愉悦感会增加，而在消费过程中和之后，喜欢程度没有相应变化。这些发现表明，社会奖励处理存在差异的状态依赖性效应，可能是由于调节奖励预期和消费的不同神经生物学系统的作用。
