Psychology

Brain Activity and Cortisol Levels Reflect the Pain of Exclusion

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Location

Indianapolis, IN

Subject Area

Psychology

Start Date

13-4-2018 3:15 PM

End Date

13-4-2018 4:15 PM

Description

Social exclusion is relatively common in everyday life, and it can have a significant impact on brain activity and behavior. In this experiment, we investigated two independent but related hypotheses concerning the effects of social exclusion. We hypothesized that exclusion will result in decreased positive affect, and secondly that stress levels, measured using salivary cortisol and delta-beta correlations, would increase following exclusion. Cyberball, a computer ball-tossing game, was used to induce social exclusion. In this game, participants play against the computer for a total of 6 minutes in one of two conditions: included or excluded. During the first 3 minutes of Cyberball, participants placed their hand in ice water to induce physiological stress. Four salivary samples (two pre-stressor, two post-stressor) and three baseline EEG recordings were obtained (one pre-stressor, two post-stressor). An increase in circulating cortisol indicates high stress. An increased correlation between delta and beta activity in the brain, measured by the EEG, is also associated with higher levels of stress. Positive affect was expected to decrease significantly more in the excluded than included group. Delta-beta correlations and salivary cortisol levels were expected to significantly increase in the excluded, but not the included group, indicating a greater increase in stress level for excluded participants. Identifying the neurological effects of social exclusion can aid in improving awareness of the impacts our everyday interactions can have.

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Apr 13th, 3:15 PM Apr 13th, 4:15 PM

Brain Activity and Cortisol Levels Reflect the Pain of Exclusion

Indianapolis, IN

Social exclusion is relatively common in everyday life, and it can have a significant impact on brain activity and behavior. In this experiment, we investigated two independent but related hypotheses concerning the effects of social exclusion. We hypothesized that exclusion will result in decreased positive affect, and secondly that stress levels, measured using salivary cortisol and delta-beta correlations, would increase following exclusion. Cyberball, a computer ball-tossing game, was used to induce social exclusion. In this game, participants play against the computer for a total of 6 minutes in one of two conditions: included or excluded. During the first 3 minutes of Cyberball, participants placed their hand in ice water to induce physiological stress. Four salivary samples (two pre-stressor, two post-stressor) and three baseline EEG recordings were obtained (one pre-stressor, two post-stressor). An increase in circulating cortisol indicates high stress. An increased correlation between delta and beta activity in the brain, measured by the EEG, is also associated with higher levels of stress. Positive affect was expected to decrease significantly more in the excluded than included group. Delta-beta correlations and salivary cortisol levels were expected to significantly increase in the excluded, but not the included group, indicating a greater increase in stress level for excluded participants. Identifying the neurological effects of social exclusion can aid in improving awareness of the impacts our everyday interactions can have.