TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological and biological validation of a novel digital social peer evaluation experiment (digi-SPEE)
AU - Menne-Lothmann, Claudia
AU - Decoster, Jeroen
AU - van Winkel, Ruud
AU - Collip, Dina
AU - Rutten, Bart P.F.
AU - Delespaul, Philippe
AU - de Hert, Marc
AU - Derom, Catherine
AU - Thiery, Evert
AU - Jacobs, Nele
AU - van Os, Jim
AU - Wichers, Marieke
PY - 2017/3/1
Y1 - 2017/3/1
N2 - Introduction: Negative social evaluation is associated with psychopathology. Given the frequency of evaluation through increasingly prevalent virtual social networks, increased understanding of the effects of this social evaluation is urgently required. Methods: A new digital social peer evaluation experiment (digi-SPEE) was developed to mimic everyday online social interactions between peers. Participants received mildly negative feedback on their appearance, intelligence, and congeniality. Two hundred and forty-one young people [58.9% female, aged 18.9 years (15 to 34)] from an ongoing novel general population twin study participated in this study. Positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), implicit self-esteem, and cortisol were assessed before and after exposure to the social evaluation experiment. Results: The social evaluation experiment decreased PA (B=−5.25, p<.001) and implicit self-esteem (B=-.19; p<.001), whereas it increased NA (B=5.99; p<.001) and cortisol levels (B=.07; p<.001). Females (PA: B=−7.62; p<.001; NA: B=8.28; p<.001) and participants with higher levels of general psychological distress (PA: B=-.04, p=.035; NA: B=.06; p=.028) showed stronger affective responses. Stressor-induced cortisol increase was stronger in adolescents under the age of 18 than in participants 18 years and older (B=-.06, p=.002). Conclusion: The digi-SPEE represents a social evaluation stressor that elicits biological and implicit and explicit mental changes that are relevant to mechanisms of psychopathology.
AB - Introduction: Negative social evaluation is associated with psychopathology. Given the frequency of evaluation through increasingly prevalent virtual social networks, increased understanding of the effects of this social evaluation is urgently required. Methods: A new digital social peer evaluation experiment (digi-SPEE) was developed to mimic everyday online social interactions between peers. Participants received mildly negative feedback on their appearance, intelligence, and congeniality. Two hundred and forty-one young people [58.9% female, aged 18.9 years (15 to 34)] from an ongoing novel general population twin study participated in this study. Positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), implicit self-esteem, and cortisol were assessed before and after exposure to the social evaluation experiment. Results: The social evaluation experiment decreased PA (B=−5.25, p<.001) and implicit self-esteem (B=-.19; p<.001), whereas it increased NA (B=5.99; p<.001) and cortisol levels (B=.07; p<.001). Females (PA: B=−7.62; p<.001; NA: B=8.28; p<.001) and participants with higher levels of general psychological distress (PA: B=-.04, p=.035; NA: B=.06; p=.028) showed stronger affective responses. Stressor-induced cortisol increase was stronger in adolescents under the age of 18 than in participants 18 years and older (B=-.06, p=.002). Conclusion: The digi-SPEE represents a social evaluation stressor that elicits biological and implicit and explicit mental changes that are relevant to mechanisms of psychopathology.
KW - Cortisol
KW - Experimental design
KW - Psychological stress
KW - Psychopathology
KW - Risk
KW - Social evaluation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85018399627&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5152/npa.2017.19318
DO - 10.5152/npa.2017.19318
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85018399627
SN - 1300-0667
VL - 54
SP - 3
EP - 10
JO - Noropsikiyatri Arsivi
JF - Noropsikiyatri Arsivi
IS - 1
ER -