Harrod Ethan G, Shrira Ilan, Martin Jared D, Niedenthal Paula M
Department of Psychology, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jan 12;13:1068456. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1068456. eCollection 2022.
Historically, exposure to dissimilar others ("strangers") was a physiologically arousing event-resulting in avoidance, distrust, and even conflict. Despite this, contemporary migration patterns are increasing intergroup contact. What gives rise to an individual's ability to regulate their arousal such that social engagement with outgroup members is possible? We propose that cultural practices that evolve in ancestrally diverse, compared to ancestrally homogeneous, societies provide more opportunities for society members to engage in emotion regulation. This regulatory exercise, in turn, promotes higher vagal tone-a physiological indicator of one's ability to effectively manage arousal in social interaction. In a secondary analysis of data from the MIDUS 2 Biomarker Project, we find that the ancestral diversity of the states of the United States significantly predicts the average vagal tone of the state's citizens. The findings suggest that social context is associated with predictable and significant adaptations of human physiology over individual lifetimes.
从历史上看，接触不同的他人（“陌生人”）是一种会引起生理唤醒的事件，会导致回避、不信任甚至冲突。尽管如此，当代的移民模式正在增加群体间的接触。是什么使个体有能力调节自身的唤醒水平，从而有可能与外群体成员进行社会交往呢？我们认为，与祖先同源的社会相比，在祖先具有多样性的社会中发展起来的文化习俗为社会成员提供了更多进行情绪调节的机会。反过来，这种调节活动会促进更高的迷走神经张力，这是一个人在社交互动中有效管理唤醒水平能力的生理指标。在对“中年人大脑生物标记物研究项目2”（MIDUS 2 Biomarker Project）的数据进行二次分析时，我们发现美国各州的祖先多样性显著预测了该州公民的平均迷走神经张力。研究结果表明，社会环境与人类生理在个体一生中可预测的显著适应性有关。
