The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses

Theatre-based practices, such as improvisation, are frequently applied to simulate everyday social interactions. Although the improvisational context is acknowledged as fictional, realistic emotions may emerge, a phenomenon labelled the ‘paradox of fiction’. This study investigated how manipulating the context (real-life versus fictional) modulates psychophysiological reactivity to social rejection during dyadic interactions. We measured psychophysiological responses elicited during real-life (interview) and fictional (improvisation exercises) social rejections. We analysed the heart rate (HR), skin conductance, facial muscle activity, and electrocortical activity (electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry) of student teachers (N = 39) during various social rejections (devaluing, interrupting, nonverbal rejection). All social rejections evoked negative EEG alpha asymmetry, a measure reflecting behavioural withdrawal motivation. Psychophysiological responses during real-life and fictional rejections correlated, and rejection type modified the responses. When comparing responses across all rejection types, facial muscle activity and EEG alpha asymmetry did not differ between real-life and fictional rejections, whereas HR decelerated and skin conductance increased during fictional rejections. These findings demonstrate that regardless of cognitive awareness of fictionality, relatively subtle social rejections elicited psychophysiological reactivity indicating emotional arousal and negative valence. These findings provide novel, biological evidence for the application of theatre-based improvisation to studying experientially everyday social encounters.

P125 Sleep and fear conditioning, extinction learning and extinction recall: a systematic review and meta-analysis of polysomnographic findings

Sleep may contribute to the long-lasting consolidation and processing of emotional memories. Experimental fear conditioning and extinction paradigms model the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders. The literature provides compelling evidence for the involvement of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the consolidation of such memories. This meta-analysis correlated polysomnographic sleep findings with psychophysiological reactivity to the danger (CS+) and safety stimuli (CS-), to clarify the specific role of sleep stages before and after fear conditioning, extinction learning and extinction recall. Overall, there was evidence that more pre-learning sleep stage two and less slow wave sleep was associated with higher psychophysiological reactivity to the safety stimulus during extinction learning. Preliminary evidence found here support the role of REM sleep during the post-extinction consolidation sleep phase in clinical populations with disrupted sleep, but not in healthy controls. Furthermore, the meta-regressions found that sex moderated the associations between sleep and psychophysiological reactivity throughout the paradigm providing evidence for diverging correlations in male and females. Specifically, increased post-extinction REM was associated with poorer extinction and safety recall in females while the opposite was found in males. These results have implications for future research in the role of sleep in emotional memory processing.

Psychophysiological Reactivity, Postures and Movements among Academic Staff: A Comparison between Teleworking Days and Office Days

The aim of this study was to determine if psychophysiological activity, postures and movements differ during telework (i.e., work performed at home) and work performed at the conventional office. We performed twenty-four-hour pulse recordings and accelerometry measurements on 23 academic teaching and research staff during five consecutive workdays, with at least one day of telework. Additionally, we conducted salivary sampling during one day of telework, and one day of office work. Heart rate and heart rate variability indices, postural exposure and cortisol concentration were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with Workplace and Time (i.e., before, during and after workhours) as within-subject effects. We found a significant interaction effect of Workplace and Time in heart rate variability indices and in the number of transitions between seated and standing postures. This shows more parasympathetic activity among academic teleworkers during telework than office work, which may indicate more relaxation during telework. They had an overall sedentary behavior at both workplaces but switched between sitting and standing more often during telework, which may be beneficial for their health.

Prefrontal tDCS attenuates counterfactual thinking in female individuals prone to self-critical rumination

The tendency to ruminate (i.e., repetitive negative self-referential thoughts that perpetuate depressive mood) is associated with (a) an elevated propensity to maladaptively experience counterfactual thinking (CFT) and regret, and (b) hypo-activity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The goal of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left DLPFC, in function of self-critical rumination tendencies, momentarily reduces counterfactual thinking and regret (assessed via self-report and psychophysiological indices). Eighty healthy participants with different levels of self-critical rumination received either anodal or sham tDCS while performing a decision making task in which they were repeatedly confronted with optimal, suboptimal, and non-optimal choice outcomes. The results showed that among rumination-prone individuals, anodal (versus sham) tDCS was associated with decreased CFT and attenuated psychophysiological reactivity to the differential choice outcomes. Conversely, among low rumination-prone individuals, anodal (versus sham) tDCS was associated with increased CFT and regret, but in absence of any effects on psychophysiological reactivity. Potential working mechanisms for these differential tDCS effects are discussed. Taken together, these results provide initial converging evidence for the adaptive effects of left prefrontal tDCS on CFT and regret to personal choice outcomes among individuals prone to engage in self-critical rumination.

Scratch Card Game Type Impacts Psychophysiological Reactivity, but Not Subjective Evaluations of Experienced Outcomes

Although many types of scratch cards exist, research on gamblers’ physiological responses to scratch card wins, losses, and near misses has been limited to a single type of game. We created two distinct scratch card types. In a “Match Three” game, we expected arousal to rise with each successive matching symbol—hence arousal would change even before the final outcome was known. In a “Number Matching” game, where players were given a set of lucky numbers and hoped to find a match within a scratch-off play area, we expected arousal to rise only once a match was made. A near miss in a Match Three game involved uncovering two large-prize symbols (but not the third). A near miss in a Number Matching game involved just missing a match (lucky number 18, uncovering a 17). For each game type, participants played four cards (small win, near miss, and two losses) while their physiological arousal was recorded. Participants rated each outcome on a number of subjective measures. For wins, arousal changes occurred as predicted (pre-outcome changes for Match Three vs. only post-outcome changes for Number Matching games). Participants rated near-miss outcomes in both card types as being more subjectively arousing, disappointing, negative, frustrating, and urge inducing than for regular losses, but we found no strong evidence for physiological near-miss effects. We provide evidence that the structure of scratch card games influences the timing of individuals’ physiological responses to various outcomes.RésuméBien qu’il existe de nombreux modèles de cartes à gratter, les recherches menées jusqu’ici sur les réactions physiologiques des joueurs face à un gain, une perte ou un quasi-gain se limitent à un seul type de jeu. Nous avons conçu deux jeux de cartes à gratter distincts. Le premier était un jeu « à trois correspondances »; nous nous attendions à ce que le degré d’excitation monte à chaque apparition d’un symbole identique - et ce, avant même que le résultat final soit connu. Le second jeu consistait à donner aux joueurs un jeu de chiffres chanceux avec instruction de dévoiler un chiffre correspondant dans la partie à gratter de la carte; nous nous attendions à ce que l’excitation monte seulement après le dévoilement d’une correspondance. Dans le premier jeu, un quasi-gain consistait en la découverte de deux symboles représentant un lot important (mais pas du troisième). Dans le second jeu, un quasi-gain consistait en l’obtention d’un nombre très proche du chiffre gagnant (obtention d’un 17 alors que le gagnant est le 18). Les participants ont été invités à gratter quatre cartes par jeu (un petit gain, un quasi-gain et deux pertes) tandis qu’on enregistrait leurs réactions physiologiques, puis à donner une évaluation subjective de chaque résultat. Les réactions anticipées se sont produites dans le cas des gains (soit avant le dévoilement du résultat dans le premier jeu et seulement après dans le second). Peu importe le type de carte, les sujets ont qualifié le quasi-gain, comparativement aux pertes régulières, d’expérience excitante, décevante, négative, frustrante et propre à attiser le désir de jouer, mais nous n’avons recueilli aucune preuve de réaction physiologique dans ce cas précis. Selon nos conclusions, la structure des jeux de cartes à gratter a une incidence sur le moment de la réaction physiologique aux différents résultats de jeu.

Implications of Religious Thinking in Therapeutic Compliance

Presenting specialty literature background in: organic chemistry, neurology, theology and clinical psychology, in order to conceptualize and bring to the forefront the interdependency between organic chemistry, neurology, psychology and religion in describing the implications of religious thinking in therapeutic compliance is a first objective of the present paper. As such, we addressed the importance of neurotransmitters in the neurophysiology of spiritual interventions. Another specific objective was defined as measuring psychological reactions, components of the moral and religious structure of human personality, with the help of psychophysiological involved factors, in rapport with therapeutic compliance. According to the descriptive statistic of data, we found that those who do not adhere to any religious cult have greater chances of being diagnosed with a disease that necessitates daily treatment and monitoring (the percentage found was 20%), in comparison with those who are part of a religious cult (6.67 %). The estimated non-linear regression model to confirm the interdependency between the medial psychophysiological reactivity to religious stimulus and the medial score obtained in the compliance questionnaire was validated by the values of R = 0.99 and p-value=0.00≈10-10<0.05). As such, we can accept the hypothesis that “there is a statistically significant association between religious thinking and compliance”. On the other hand, the hypothesis “there is a statistically significant association between religious thinking and compliance” was validated, using the t test, only at 40%, as the results of the t test were only considered on significant components of the applied MARS questionnaire. The results given by approaching the two hypotheses through the mixture of psychophysiological and application of the MARS questionnaire consistently highlighted an image of importance of religious thinking in therapeutic compliance. The current study is useful in motivating adherents of any religion, in our study, the Christian belief, to improve their compliance. Keywords: oxcytocin, vassopressin, MARS scale, therapeutic compliance, religious experience

Psychophysiological Measures of Reactance to Persuasive Messages Advocating Limited Meat Consumption

Persuasive interventions can lose their effectiveness when a person becomes reactant to the persuasive messages—a state identified by feelings of anger and perceived threat to freedom. A person will strive to reestablish their threatened freedom, which is characterized by motivational arousal. Research suggests that the motivational state of psychological reactance can be observed in physiology. Therefore, the assessment of physiological reactions might help to identify reactance to persuasive messages and, thereby, could be an objective approach to personalize persuasive technologies. The current study investigates peripheral psychophysiological reactivity in response to persuasive messages. To manipulate the strength of the reactant response either high- or low-controlling language messages were presented to discourage meat consumption. The high-controlling language condition indeed evoked more psychological reactance, and sympathetic arousal did increase during persuasive messaging in heart rate and heart rate variability, although no clear relationship between physiological reactivity and self-reported psychological reactance was found. However, the evaluation of multiple linear models revealed that variance in self-reported psychological reactance was best explained by initial intentions in combination with cardiovascular reactivity. To conclude, considering physiological reactivity in addition to motivational state can benefit our understanding of psychological reactance.