Your presence soothes me: a neural process model of aversive emotion regulation via social buffering

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The reduction of aversive emotions by a conspecific’s presence—called social buffering—is a universal phenomenon in the mammalian world and a powerful form of human social emotion regulation. Animal and human studies on neural pathways underlying social buffering typically examined physiological reactions or regional brain activations. However, direct links between emotional and social stimuli, distinct neural processes and behavioural outcomes are still missing. Using data of 27 female participants, the current study delineated a large-scale process model of social buffering’s neural underpinnings, connecting changes in neural activity to emotional behaviour by means of voxel-wise multilevel mediation analysis. Our results confirmed that three processes underlie human social buffering: (i) social support-related reduction of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, anterior and mid-cingulate; (ii) downregulation of aversive emotion-induced brain activity in the superficial cortex-like amygdala and mediodorsal thalamus; and (iii) downregulation of reported aversive feelings. Results of the current study provide evidence for a distinct neural process model of aversive emotion regulation in humans by social buffering.</jats:p>

Socially Supported by an Embodied Agent: The Development of a Virtual-Reality Paradigm to Study Social Emotion Regulation

“…After experiencing exclusion, once again the fellow student offers support in the form of a positive appraisal of the situation, but this time it is juxtaposed with two other forms of social support a person could benefit from: distraction by the virtual agent away from the exclusion situation, a strategy aimed at emotional disengagement (Sheppes et al, 2011), and social buffering, an effect capable of ameliorating stress responses through the sheer presence of another person. Social buffering occurs in many situations although not always necessarily intentionally (Zaki and Williams, 2013;Bratec et al, 2020), and can be seen as a baseline to every condition including the agent.…”

Fear in groups: Increasing group size reduces perceptions of danger.

“…In what is termed social buffering, individuals facing a threat show reduced behavioral, emotional and biological stress responses during and after the event when there is another individual present, compared to when they are alone (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Hennessy et al, 2009; Kikusui et al, 2006; Kiyokawa & Hennessy, 2018). In humans, the presence of a partner during stress has been shown to reduce negative emotions and perceptions of pain, as well as decreases in physiological and neural stress responses (Coan et al, 2006; Conner et al, 2012; Eisenberger et al, 2011; Mulej Bratec et al, 2020; Uchino et al, 1996). These effects are observed even when the partner can do nothing to prevent or mitigate the threat, mere presence of a supportive other is enough (Mulej Bratec et al, 2020; Qi et al, 2020).…”

“…In humans, the presence of a partner during stress has been shown to reduce negative emotions and perceptions of pain, as well as decreases in physiological and neural stress responses (Coan et al, 2006; Conner et al, 2012; Eisenberger et al, 2011; Mulej Bratec et al, 2020; Uchino et al, 1996). These effects are observed even when the partner can do nothing to prevent or mitigate the threat, mere presence of a supportive other is enough (Mulej Bratec et al, 2020; Qi et al, 2020). Current research on social buffering in humans suggests that these effects are produced when the presence or perceived support of other people alters one’s perceptions of potentially stressful events.…”

“…The availability of aid or resources can change an individual’s appraisal of a situation, including their own ability to cope, which in turn affects behavioral and emotional responses to stress (Cohen, 2004). However, most experimental studies on social buffering in humans have only examined the effects in dyads, where support is provided by only one other person (e.g., Coan et al, 2006; Conner et al, 2012; Mulej Bratec et al, 2020).…”

“…In nonthreatening situations, the presence of a group has been shown to decrease negative emotions while maintaining positive ones (Park & Hinsz, 2015). Since negative emotions like fear and anxiety are an important part of human stress responses, and can be impacted by social buffering (Mulej Bratec et al, 2020), it is important to fully understand how they can be influenced by group membership in threatening situations.…”