Division of Experimental Psychology and Neuropsychology, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Division of Social, Organizational, and Economic Psychology, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 28;13(1):12285. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39456-0.
Experiencing a social threat, such as social exclusion, is a painful event. In contrast to previous studies providing insight into the processing of a single short-termed threat, we exposed healthy individuals to the simultaneous onset of different social threats. This approach allowed us to track whether these threats are processed independently-or whether they interact in a common system. Using a virtual ball-throwing game (Cyberball), electrophysiological (event-related brain potentials, ERPs) and behavioral (self-reports) responses were collected. We assigned undergraduates to three experimental groups: single threat exclusion (n = 24), single threat loss of control (n = 26), and joint onset of both threats (dual-threat, n = 25). Self-reports indicated an increase in threats (i.e., in perceived exclusion and loss-of-control) in the latter group. The ERPs disentangled the neural responses to each threat: In the dual-threat group, the amplitudes of the P3 responses to exclusionary and intervention events were enhanced. This indicates that individuals are sensitized to each of the threats when the other threat is present simultaneously. Our findings support the theoretical notion of a common cognitive system responding to violations in subjective expectations.
体验社会威胁，如社会排斥，是一件痛苦的事情。与之前的研究不同，这些研究深入探讨了单一短期威胁的处理过程，我们让健康个体同时面临不同的社会威胁。这种方法使我们能够追踪这些威胁是独立处理的，还是在一个共同的系统中相互作用。我们使用虚拟投球游戏（Cyberball）来收集电生理（事件相关脑电位，ERPs）和行为（自我报告）反应。我们将本科生分配到三个实验组：单一威胁排斥（n=24）、单一威胁失去控制（n=26）和同时出现两种威胁（双重威胁，n=25）。自我报告表明，在后一组中，威胁感（即感知到的排斥和失去控制）增加。ERPs 分离了对每种威胁的神经反应：在双重威胁组中，排斥和干预事件的 P3 反应幅度增强。这表明当另一个威胁同时存在时，个体对每个威胁都变得敏感。我们的发现支持了一个共同认知系统对主观期望违反做出反应的理论观点。
