Social optimism biases are associated with cortical thickness

Abstract

Optimism biases denote the tendency to see future desirable events as being more likely to happen to oneself than undesirable events. Such biases are important for mental health and may extend to other individuals or social groups (social optimism biases). However, little is known about whether social optimism biases relate to brain structure. Using sparse canonical correlation analysis, we associated cortical thickness (assessed by magnetic resonance imaging) with measures of social and personal optimism bias, trait optimism, and related concepts. We identified a defensive self-enhancement dimension that associated significantly and reliably with the cortical thickness of the insula and inferior frontal cortex. This self-enhancement dimension included unfavorable biases toward unpopular out-groups and indicators of personal optimism and pessimism. A shared biological substrate underlying future expectancies that subserves the promotion of the self and the denigration of unpopular out-groups may render society-wide efforts to counteract stereotyping particularly difficult: Such efforts may hinder the establishment of adaptive personal optimism biases.

Reduced network integration in default mode and executive networks is associated with social and personal optimism biases

“…(H2) If this were the case, we assumed that an association would be reflected in both sCCAs, focusing on between‐network functional connectivity (BNFC) and within‐network functional connectivity (WNFC), respectively. (H3) In addition, we hypothesised, that—if such an association existed—it would, like our previous finding on brain structure, point towards a shared neural correlate of both social and personal optimism biases (Moser et al, 2020). (H4) In accordance with the existing literature on optimism and FC, we expected that a neural correlate or optimism would be revealed in both WNFC and BNF and include the SAL, CEN, and DMN (Ran et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2018; Wu et al, 2015).…”

“…Lastly, it is noteworthy that personal and social optimism biases showed highly overlapping results in that they were situated at similar locations on the sCCA mode's variates in relation to the sCCAs for all RSFC and for BNFC. A previous study that used sCCA to investigate grey matter thickness also found a unified behavioural sCCA dimension that spanned both social and personal optimism (Moser et al, 2020). The present study therefore furthers the notion that the same biological underpinnings are shared between social and personal optimism biases.…”

“…Studies on brain structure suggest that not only personal but also social optimism bias have a permanent neuronal signature that overlaps with three of the most common networks linked to higher cognition (Chowdhury, Sharot, Wolfe, Düzel, & Dolan, 2014; Dolcos, Hu, Iordan, Moore, & Dolcos, 2016; Moser, Dricu, Wiest, Schupbach, & Aue, 2020). These networks include the default mode network (DMN), the central executive network (CEN), and the salience network (SAL).…”

“…Previous studies on grey matter measures linked personal optimism biases to midline and other DMN regions, as well as to regions of the CEN and SAL such as the insula (Chowdhury et al, 2014; Dolcos et al, 2016; Yang, Wei, Wang, & Qiu, 2013). Notably, a recent study further revealed that such structural brain‐behaviour associations are not restricted to the personal domain, but extend into the social domain (Moser et al, 2020). Among other results, grey matter thickness of the SAL and CEN regions (such as the insula and inferior frontal gyrus; IFG) and of the DMN regions (such as the dmPFC) were shown to be associated with less favourable expectations towards out‐groups that are perceived as cold.…”

Differences in Explicit Stereotype Activation among Social Groups Based on the Stereotype Content Model: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence in Chinese Sample

“…Compared with other three quadrants, participants were more willing to sacrifice LW-LC group members in moral dilemmas [ 29 ]. Moreover, desirable events were anticipated to occur significantly more frequently than undesirable events for HW-HC and HW-LC group members while this social optimism biases were reversed for LW-LC groups [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Compared to HW-HC and HW-LC groups, the temporoparietal junction and right anterior temporal lobe were recruited when evaluating LW-HC and LW-LC groups, while thinking about LW-LC groups additionally involved the dorsomedial frontal cortex (stereotypical thinking and disgust), inferior frontal cortex (stereotypical thinking), and anterior insula (disgust and repulsion) [ 31 ].…”