̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - experimental psychology

Time alone heightens ‘threat alert’ in teenagers – even when connecting online

fpjl2 — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:03:21 +0000

People in their late teens experience an increased sensitivity to threats after just a few hours left in a room on their own – an effect that endures even if they are interacting online with friends and family.

This is according to latest findings from a cognitive neuroscience experiment conducted at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, which saw 40 young people aged 16-19 undergo testing before and after several hours alone – both with and without their smartphones.

Many countries have declared an epidemic of loneliness*. ̽��ֱ��researchers set out to “induce” loneliness in teenagers and study the effects through a series of tests, from a Pavlovian task to electrodes that measure sweat.

Scientists found that periods of isolation, including those in which participants could use their phones, led to an increased threat response – the sensing of and reacting to potential dangers. This alertness can cause people to feel anxious and uneasy.

̽��ֱ��authors of the study say that isolation and loneliness might lead to excessive “threat vigilance”, even when plugged in online, which could negatively impact adolescent mental health over time.

They say it could contribute to the persistent and exaggerated fear responses typical of anxiety disorders on the rise among young people around the world.

While previous studies show isolation leads to anxious behaviour and threat responses in rodents, this is believed to be the first study to demonstrate these effects through experiments involving humans.

̽��ֱ��findings are published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

“We detected signs of heightened threat vigilance after a few hours of isolation, even when the adolescents had been connected through smartphones and social media,” said Emily Towner, study lead author from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology.

“This alertness to perceived threats might be the same mechanism that leads to the excessive worry and inability to feel safe which characterises anxiety,” said Towner, a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

“It makes evolutionary sense that being alone increases our vigilance to potential threats. These threat response mechanisms undergo a lot of changes in adolescence, a stage of life marked by increasing independence and social sensitivity.”

"Our experiment suggests that periods of isolation in adolescents might increase their vulnerability to the development of anxiety, even when they are connected virtually.”

Researchers recruited young people from the local area in Cambridge, UK, conducting extensive screening to create a pool of 18 boys and 22 girls who had good social connections and no history of mental health issues.

Participants were given initial tests and questionnaires to establish a “baseline”. These included the Pavlovian threat test, in which they were shown a series of shapes on a screen, one of which was paired with a harsh noise played through headphones, so the shape became associated with a feeling of apprehension.

Electrodes attached to fingers monitored “electrodermal activity” – a physiological marker of stress – throughout this test.**

Each participant returned for two separate stints of around four hours isolated in a room in Cambridge ̽��ֱ��’s Psychology Department, after which the tests were completed again. There was around a month, on average, between sessions.

All participants underwent two isolation sessions. One was spent with a few puzzles to pass the time, but no connection to the outside world. For the other, participants were allowed smartphones and given wi-fi codes, as well as music and novels. ̽��ֱ��only major rule in both sessions was they had to stay awake.***

“We set out to replicate behaviour in humans that previous animal studies had found after isolation,” said Towner. “We wanted to know about the experience of loneliness, and you can’t ask animals how lonely they feel.”

Self-reported loneliness increased from baseline after both sessions. It was lower on average after isolation with social media, compared to full isolation.****

However, participants found the threat cue – the shape paired with a jarring sound – more anxiety-inducing and unpleasant after both isolation sessions, with electrodes also measuring elevated stress activity.

On average across the study, threat responses were 70% higher after the isolation sessions compared to the baseline, regardless of whether participants had been interacting digitally.

“Although virtual social interactions helped our participants feel less lonely compared to total isolation, their heightened threat response remained,” said Towner.

Previous studies have found a link between chronic loneliness and alertness to threats. ̽��ֱ��latest findings support the idea that social isolation may directly contribute to heightened fear responses, say researchers.

Dr Livia Tomova, co-senior author and lecturer in Psychology at Cardiff ̽��ֱ��, who conducted the work while at Cambridge, added: “Loneliness among adolescents around the world has nearly doubled in recent years. ̽��ֱ��need for social interaction is especially intense during adolescence, but it is not clear whether online socialising can fulfil this need.

“This study has shown that digital interactions might not mitigate some of the deep-rooted effects that isolation appears to have on teenagers.”

Scientists say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the rise in young people.

Notes

*For example, in 2023 the U.S. Surgeon General declared an epidemic of loneliness and isolation.

**Electrodes placed on the fingers record small deflections in sweat and subsequent changes in electrical conductivity of the skin (electrodermal activity). Electrodermal activity is used to detect stress levels and increases with emotional or physical arousal.

*** ̽��ֱ��baseline tests were always taken first. ̽��ֱ��order of the two isolation sessions was randomly allocated. For sessions with digital interactions allowed, most participants used social media (35 out of 40), with texting being the most common form of interaction (37 out of 40). Other popular platforms included Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Participants mainly connected virtually with friends (38), followed by family (19), romantic partners (13), and acquaintances (4).

**** Average self-reported loneliness more than doubled after the isolation session with social media compared to baseline and nearly tripled after the complete isolation session compared to baseline.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Psychological ‘signature’ for the extremist mind uncovered

fpjl2 — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 08:36:56 +0000

Scientists have mapped an underlying “psychological signature” for people who are predisposed to holding extreme social, political or religious attitudes – and support violence in the name of ideology.

‘Mental rigidity’ at the root of intense political partisanship on both left and right – study

fpjl2 — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 16:08:26 +0000

People who identify more intensely with a political tribe or ideology share an underlying psychological trait: low levels of cognitive flexibility, according to a new study.

This 'mental rigidity' makes it harder for people to change their ways of thinking or adapt to new environments, say researchers. Importantly, mental rigidity was found in those with the most fervent beliefs and affiliations on both the left and right of the political divide.

̽��ֱ��study of over 700 US citizens, conducted by scientists from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, is the largest – and first for over 20 years – to investigate whether the more politically 'extreme' have a certain 'type of mind' through the use of objective psychological testing.

̽��ֱ��findings suggest that the basic mental processes governing our ability to switch between different concepts and tasks are linked to the intensity with which we attach ourselves to political doctrines – regardless of the ideology.

“Relative to political moderates, participants who indicated extreme attachment to either the Democratic or Republican Party exhibited mental rigidity on multiple objective neuropsychological tests,” said Dr Leor Zmigrod, a Cambridge Gates Scholar and lead author of the study, now published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

“While political animosity often appears to be driven by emotion, we find that the way people unconsciously process neutral stimuli seems to play an important role in how they process ideological arguments.”

“Those with lower cognitive flexibility see the world in more black-and-white terms, and struggle with new and different perspectives. ̽��ֱ��more inflexible mind may be especially susceptible to the clarity, certainty, and safety frequently offered by strong loyalty to collective ideologies,” she said.

̽��ֱ��research is the latest in a series of studies from Zmigrod and her Cambridge colleagues, Dr Jason Rentfrow and Professor Trevor Robbins, on the relationship between ideology and cognitive flexibility.

Their previous work over the last 18 months has suggested that mental rigidity is linked to more extreme attitudes with regards to religiosity, nationalism, and a willingness to endorse violence and sacrifice one’s life for an ideological group.

For the latest study, the Cambridge team recruited 743 men and women of various ages and educational backgrounds from across the political spectrum through the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform.

Participants completed three psychological tests online: a word association game, a card-sorting test – where colours, shapes and numbers are matched according to shifting rules – and an exercise in which participants have a two-minute window to imagine possible uses for everyday objects.

“These are established and standardized cognitive tests which quantify how well individuals adapt to changing environments and how flexibly their minds process words and concepts,” said Zmigrod.

̽��ֱ��participants were also asked to score their feelings towards various divisive social and economic issues – from abortion and marriage to welfare – and the extent of 'overlap' between their personal identity and the US Republican and Democrat parties.

Zmigrod and colleagues found that 'partisan extremity' – the intensity of participants’ attachment to their favoured political party – was a strong predictor of rigidity in all three cognitive tests. They also found that self-described Independents displayed greater cognitive flexibility compared to both Democrats and Republicans.

Other cognitive traits, such as originality or fluency of thought, were not related to heightened political partisanship, which researchers argue suggests the unique contribution of cognitive inflexibility.

“In the context of today’s highly divided politics, it is important we work to understand the psychological underpinnings of dogmatism and strict ideological adherence,” said Zmigrod.

“ ̽��ֱ��aim of this research is not to draw false equivalences between different, and sometimes opposing, ideologies. We want to highlight the common psychological factors that shape how people come to hold extreme views and identities,” said Zmigrod.

“Past studies have shown that it is possible to cultivate cognitive flexibility through training and education. Our findings raise the question of whether heightening our cognitive flexibility might help build more tolerant societies, and even develop antidotes to radicalization.”

“While the conservatism and liberalism of our beliefs may at times divide us, our capacity to think about the world flexibly and adaptively can unite us,” she added.

Latest research shows that reduced cognitive flexibility is associated with more 'extreme' beliefs and identities at both ends of the political spectrum. Researchers say that “heightening our cognitive flexibility might help build more tolerant societies”.

We want to highlight the common psychological factors that shape how people come to hold extreme views and identities

Leor Zmigrod

Adam Cohn

Arguing protestors

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike

Feeling powerless increases the weight of the world… literally

fpjl2 — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:27:16 +0000

Scientists have found that people who feel powerless actually see the world differently, and find a task to be more physically challenging than those with a greater sense of personal and social power.

Eun Hee Lee - a researcher working with Dr Simone Schnall at Cambridge’s Department of Psychology - carried out a series of tests in which volunteers were surreptitiously surveyed about their own social power, then asked to lift boxes of varying weights and guess how heavy they were. Those who felt powerless consistently perceived the weight of the boxes as much heavier than those who felt more powerful.

̽��ֱ��study is the first demonstration that power – a ‘psychosocial’ construct relating to the control of resources – changes peoples’ perception of objects; that how you feel about your social standing in a situation can influence how you see the physical environment.

̽��ֱ��researchers say this overestimation of weight may be an adaptive strategy when faced with a lack of resources: when in a position of powerlessness, it would be ‘advantageous’ to have an overly cautious approach to the world in order to preserve your existing limited resources.

Experiencing perceptual attributes of the world – such as the weight of objects - in an “exaggerated fashion” when feeling powerless might be symptomatic of this instinctive resource conservation.

̽��ֱ��study is published this week in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

“Although many psychological studies have been conducted on power not much was known about how power influences actual perceptual experiences in everyday life,” said lead researcher Eun Hee Lee.

“This research demonstrates that people’s social role, as indicated by a sense of social power, or a lack thereof, can change the way they see the physical environment.”

To measure a person’s sense of their own social power, Lee and Schnall conducted three separate studies – all disguised by cover stories so that participants were unaware of what was being tested.

In the first, 145 participants were asked to rank how strongly they felt a series of statements applied to them – such as “I can get people to listen to what I say” – to measure beliefs about their power in social relationships. They were then tasked with lifting a number of boxes and guessing the weight, before taking a final test to gauge their mood. Researchers found that the lower a person’s feelings of social power, the more they thought the boxes weighed.

In the second test, the researchers manipulated the sense of power by asking 41 participants to sit in either an expansive, domineering position – with one elbow on the arm of their chair and the other on the desk next to them – or a more constricting one, with hands tucked under thighs and shoulders dropped.

Prior to manipulation, most participants overestimated the weight; after manipulation, those who sat in the more powerful pose gave more accurate estimates, while those in the submissive condition continued to imagine heavier weight.

In the final test, 68 participants were asked to recall an experience in which they had felt either powerful or powerless, and then repeatedly estimate the weights of various boxes - under the guise of studying the effect of exercise on autobiographical memory. Those who focused on the powerful incident became more accurate at guessing the weight, while those recalling a powerless situation continually overestimated the heaviness of the boxes.

While previous research has shown that various physical and emotional states can influence perception of the environment – such as perceiving a hill slant to be steeper when wearing a heavy backpack, or threatening objects, such as a tarantula, appearing to be further from your face when feeling good about yourself – this is the first study to show that a sense of power can now be added to that list.

Giulio Andreotti, the former Italian Prime Minister who was nicknamed ‘Il Divo’ after the epithet for Julius Caesar, famously once said that “power tires only those who do not have it”. Lee and Schnall write that this comment is “no longer an unsubstantiated conjecture”, and that their data suggests the world of the powerless “is indeed full of heavy burdens”.

Added Lee: “Power plays a role when it is present in a given moment, but also when it comes to people’s personality. We find that personality, which determines how people interact with the social world, also shapes how people interact with the physical world.”

New research shows that the more personally and socially powerless you feel the heavier objects appear to weigh.

People’s social role, as indicated by a sense of social power, or a lack thereof, can change the way they see the physical environment

Eun Hee Lee

United States Marine Corps

Heave, Ho!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-Noncommerical