Homeostatic Regulation of Energetic Arousal During Acute Social Isolation: Evidence From the Lab and the Field

Autor(en)
Ana Stijovic, Paul A. G. Forbes, Livia Tomova, Nadine Skoluda, Anja C. Feneberg, Giulio Piperno, Ekaterina Pronizius, Urs M. Nater, Claus Lamm, Giorgia Silani
Abstrakt

Recent evidence suggests that social contact is a basic need governed by a social homeostatic system. Little is known, however, about how conditions of altered social homeostasis affect human psychology and physiology. Here, we investigated the effects of 8 hr of social isolation on psychological and physiological variables and compared this with 8 hr of food deprivation in a lab experiment (N = 30 adult women). Social isolation led to lowered self-reported energetic arousal and heightened fatigue, comparable with food deprivation. To test whether these findings would extend to a real-life setting, we conducted a preregistered field study during a COVID-19 lockdown (N = 87 adults; 47 women). The drop in energetic arousal after social isolation observed in the lab replicated in the field study for participants who lived alone or reported high sociability, suggesting that lowered energy could be part of a homeostatic response to the lack of social contact.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie, Institut für Psychologie der Kognition, Emotion und Methoden, Forschungsplattform The Stress of Life - Processes and Mechanisms underlying Everyday Life Stress
Externe Organisation(en)
University of Cambridge, Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza
Journal
Psychological Science
Band
34
Seiten
537-551
Anzahl der Seiten
15
ISSN
0956-7976
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976231156413
Publikationsdatum
05-2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501006 Experimentalpsychologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Psychology(all)
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/homeostatic-regulation-of-energetic-arousal-during-acute-social-isolation-evidence-from-the-lab-and-the-field(7c0b05d1-cbf8-4c49-8dee-a18aecaee21b).html