Measuring Neural and Behavioral Activity During Ongoing Computerized Social Interactions: An Examination of Event-Related Brain Potentials

Summary

Research on social exclusion has grown tremendously in recent years. As the field expands, it is imperative to develop sophisticated methodologies allowing for the simultaneous measurement of neural and behavioral outcomes during social exclusion. This protocol utilizes event-related brain potentials to record ongoing neural activity during computerized social interactions.

Abstract

Social exclusion is a complex social phenomenon with powerful negative consequences. Given the impact of social exclusion on mental and emotional health, an understanding of how perceptions of social exclusion develop over the course of a social interaction is important for advancing treatments aimed at lessening the harmful costs of being excluded. To date, most scientific examinations of social exclusion have looked at exclusion after a social interaction has been completed. While this has been very helpful in developing an understanding of what happens to a person following exclusion, it has not helped to clarify the moment-to-moment dynamics of the process of social exclusion. Accordingly, the current protocol was developed to obtain an improved understanding of social exclusion by examining the patterns of event-related brain activation that are present during social interactions. This protocol allows greater precision and sensitivity in detailing the social processes that lead people to feel as though they have been excluded from a social interaction. Importantly, the current protocol can be adapted to include research projects that vary the nature of exclusionary social interactions by altering how frequently participants are included, how long the periods of exclusion will last in each interaction, and when exclusion will take place during the social interactions. Further, the current protocol can be used to examine variables and constructs beyond those related to social exclusion. This capability to address a variety of applications across psychology by obtaining both neural and behavioral data during ongoing social interactions suggests the present protocol could be at the core of a developing area of scientific inquiry related to social interactions.

Introduction

The scientific examination of social interactions has undergone a renaissance in recent years, with an explosion of new theoretical explanations, models, and paradigms aimed at understanding and exploring the effects of being the target or source of social exclusion and how those interactions lead to the many consequences of exclusion^1-6. Though the literature had made tremendous strides in developing a better understanding of the consequences of social exclusion at behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and neural levels, a great deal remains unknown in relation to the dynamics involved in social exclusion. One notable gap in the literature relates to the measu....

Protocol

NOTE: The following protocol was developed in accordance with ethical standards approved by the Institutional Review Board at Illinois Wesleyan University.

1. Cyberball Stimulus Preparation

1. Download the Cyberball paradigm^12,18 and install it on the computer (the current protocol utilized images from Cyberball version 3.0). Alternatively, create computerized images to recreate the Cyberball paradigm to meet specific needs.
2. Create individual images for each portion of the throws within Cyberball by using a photo-editing program. For example, break down each of the throws from player to player into the individu....

Results

This protocol has been used in previously published research examining the influence of social exclusion on ongoing neural and behavioral activity¹³. Twenty-two college-aged participants (15 females, 7 males) completed three sessions of the Cyberball task under conditions described above. After providing informed consent, participants were told that they would be playing a computerized ball-tossing game with other undergraduate participants. However, the other participants were not real, they were represented .......

Discussion

In this article, a protocol allowing for the measurement of ongoing event-related neural and behavioral data during social interactions was presented. This procedure creates opportunities to look at multiple different event types (inclusionary, exclusionary) within and across varied social interactions. Specifically, the procedure can quantify moment-to-moment event-related neural activity in response to any event that occurs during a computerized social interaction. This neural activity is independent of any particular .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Cyberball (Williams et al., 2000) computerized social interaction program	https://cyberball.wikispaces.com		An Alternate set of computerized images can be used or created by the researcher
Neuroscan SynAmps2 64-Channel Amplifier with SCAN 4.3.1 Acquisition and Analysis Software	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	9032-0010-01	Alternate amplifiers and EEG acquisition equipment and sofware can be used
STIM2 Complete Version 2.1 Stimulus Presentation Software	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	666M	Alternate stimulus presenation software can be used
SynAmps2 Quik-Cap Sintered Ag/AgCl 64 Ch./Medium	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	96050255	Alternate EEG caps can be used
Quik-Gel Conductive Gel	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	92000016	Alternate EEG conductive electrode gel can be used
NuPrep	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	92100025	Alternate skin preparation exfoliants can be used
Blunt needle and syringe kit	Compumedics Neuroscan Neuromedical Supplies	104207	Needle and syringe kit is used to apply conductive gel to electrode embedded in the EEG cap