week 4, day 1

Question 1

How do these views compare?

Answer 1

Question 2

exaptation

Answer 2

Adoption of a character that had one use in an ancestral form into a new, different use in a descendant form

Many complex traits evolved from earlier traits that had served different functions

E.g. feathers for warmth -> feathers for flying

Question 3

Panksepp, 1998

Answer 3

1. Shows that certain pain mechanisms are borrowed for social aspect
   
   • Pain: social distress routed in here
   • Thermoregulation: feels good/comfy
2. Premise: social pain adapted pain system possibly done b/c we are mammals -> If social separation is a threat to survival, feeling “hurt” by it may be an adaptive way to prevent it

Question 4

Physical and Social Pain

Answer 4

• Hyp: physical ad social pain processes overlap
• Affective pain regions
  
  • implication: if ppl are more sensitive to one pain they may be more sensitive to the other
  • Cyberball study
• Eisenberger, et al 2011: social neg feedback?
  
  • The pain of being dumped study
    
    • • physical pain
• Implications?
  
  • If physical and social pain rely on the same systems then maybe individuals who are more sensitive to one kind of pain are more sensitive to the other

Question 5

Affective pain regions

Answer 5

1. Think about if you’ve been dumped, if you feel physical pain -> activity from both are in the same area
   
   • Found activation in pain-related neural regions
   • Greater social distress if dACC lit up
   • Even disapproving facial expression can activate pain-related neural circuitry
2. Implication: if ppl are more sensitive to one pain they may be more sensitive to the other

Question 6

Mu-Opioid Gene and Social Pain Sensitivity

Answer 6

Those with the variant G allele experience more physical pain and need more morphine to deal with pain

G allele carriers also show greater reported rejection sensitivity

Question 7

Social Support and Physical Pain: hand-holding/ pic-viewing study

Answer 7

1. After each pain stimulus, they rated the unpleasantness of the heat stimulus
2. Brought in many females in long term relationships and gave them painful heat stimulus while they held someone’s hand, partner’s hand or stress ball
3. Second type: photo of partner, photo of stranger, photo of neutral object
4. results
   
   • When holding partner’s hand and viewing pic of partner they reported less pain

Question 8

Tylenol Studies

Answer 8

1. Tylenol and Hurt feelings
   
   • Subjects took 1000mg/day of Tylenol or placebo for 3 weeks
   • Recorded “hurt feelings” each day for 3 weeks
   • By day nine became significant
2. Tylenol + neural sensitivity
   
   • At the end of 2 weeks they went through scanner
   • They went through Cyberball again
   • Less pain in subjects who have had Tylenol and their brains look relatively quiet

Question 9

Physical Warmth Task

Answer 9

1. Brought ppl into scanner
   
   1. Physical: holding a warm pack
   2. Control: neutral temp squeeze ball
2. What’s more active in brain between the two?
   
   • Prior to this, collected emails from family/friends (in scanner showed them 1st time)
     
     • Very sweet loving vs control messages: just facts
3. Self reports:
   
   • warm pack warmer than squeeze; warmer with loving vs factual messages
   • How connected do you feel? More with loving than neutral msgs; felt more connected with warm pack than neutral squeeze ball
4. Any regions shared?
   
   • -> same neural regions process physical and emotional warmth

Question 10

physical/emotional warmth

Answer 10

1. hot/cold coffee:
   
   • Warmer when holding coffee than iced coffee
   • Tactile experiences of physical warmth influenced judgments of and behavior toward others
2. hot/cold pack:
   
   • Held cool or warm pack and then decided whether they wanted a gift for themselves or a gift for their friend.
   • Kind of looks like the cool pack is doing the work
3. Implication: If this is really true can we use physical warmth to alleviate loneliness? and do individuals with higher body temp feel more connected?

Question 11

Body temperature studies

Answer 11

1. Cold and lonely:
   
   • When thinking about rejection, people estimate the room as colder
   • Lonely ppl more likely to take longer and warmer showers
     
     • When rejected tend to look for warm foods
     • When unincluded: wanted coffee and soup
2. higher body temp study: Those with higher body temp but not feverish felt more socially connected

Question 12

Levator labii significance

Answer 12

Expresses Disgust

• Raises the upper lip and wrinkles the nose
• Also happens in response to bad tastes and smells

Question 13

Ultimatum game

Answer 13

Face in response to diff offers

Most unfair/immoral offer: see nose scrunch of disgust

Question 14

Disgust and Morality Study

Answer 14

1. Individuals were tested as they passed through an outside area with a garbage can nearby
2. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: No fart spray in nearby garbage can, 4 sprays, 8 sprays
   
   • Can we make them say it’s more immoral?
     
     • Results: more fart spray -> seen as more immoral
3. implication: When you feel disgusted, impulse is to clean.
   
   • If morality is built up on the same system, that feeling disgusted by something immoral should also lead to a desire to cleanse

Question 15

Morality and Cleansing

Answer 15

1. Social psych way
2. How many times with cleansing words?
3. Immoral -> more cleansing words

Question 16

Charitable Giving

Answer 16

1. Can this also activate the reward center?
2. Are you cool that you lose money if a charity gets it vs are you okay getting money for yourself without consequence to charity
   
   • Results: More activity on reward center -> more likely to donate

Question 17

Monetary and Social Rewards

Answer 17

1. Monetary reward:
   
   • Imaging study
   • you get money or no money
     
     • results: as expected
2. In social reward:
   
   • Their questionnaires were seen and they were given feedback
     
     • Looked at activity
     • Saw same pattern

Question 18

Empathy for Pain

Answer 18

1. Some trials you get pain, some trials your partner gets pain
2. Same neural regions involved in both