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The (Null) Effect of Affective Touch on Betrayal Aversion, Altruism, and Risk Taking
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Economics. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. (JEDILab)
Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Economics. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. (JEDILab)
Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Linköping University, Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Psychology. Linköping University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Linköping University, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience. Linköping University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, Economics. Decis Research, OR USA. (JEDILab)ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2873-4500
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2017 (English)In: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, ISSN 1662-5153, E-ISSN 1662-5153, Vol. 11, article id 251Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Pleasant touch is thought to increase the release of oxytocin. Oxytocin, in turn, has been extensively studied with regards to its effects on trust and prosocial behavior, but results remain inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of touch on economic decision making. Participants (n = 120) were stroked on their left arm using a soft brush (touch condition) or not at all (control condition; varied within subjects), while they performed a series of decision tasks assessing betrayal aversion (the Betrayal Aversion Elicitation Task), altruism (donating money to a charitable organization), and risk taking (the Balloon Analog Risk Task). We found no significant effect of touch on any of the outcome measures, neither within nor between subjects. Furthermore, effects were not moderated by gender or attachment. However, attachment avoidance had a significant effect on altruism in that those who were high in avoidance donated less money. Our findings contribute to the understanding of affective touch-and, by extension, oxytocin-in social behavior, and decision making by showing that touch does not directly influence performance in tasks involving risk and prosocial decisions. Specifically, our work casts further doubt on the validity of oxytocin research in humans.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA , 2017. Vol. 11, article id 251
Keywords [en]
touch; oxytocin; betrayal aversion; altruism; risk taking; trust
National Category
Neurosciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-144145DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00251ISI: 000418282900001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-144145DiVA, id: diva2:1172590
Note

Funding Agencies|Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation [2014.0187]; Ragnar Soderberg Foundation

Available from: 2018-01-10 Created: 2018-01-10 Last updated: 2021-12-28
In thesis
1. Pain, Touch, and Decision Making: Behavioral and Brain Responses to Affective Somatosensory Stimulation
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Pain, Touch, and Decision Making: Behavioral and Brain Responses to Affective Somatosensory Stimulation
2020 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Stimulation of sensory nerves can give rise to powerful affective experiences. Noxious stimuli can give rise to pain, an unpleasant experience which, in turn, causes suffering and constitutes a major societal burden. Touch, on the other hand, can feel pleasant and plays an important role in social relationships and well-being. Slow, gentle stroking of the skin in particular has been shown to activate C-tactile (CT) afferents, which are thought to signal affective and socially relevant aspects of touch. However, little is known about how pain and affective touch influence everyday decision making.

In Paper I, we investigated the effect of acute physical pain on risk taking and intertemporal choice. Participants (n = 109) performed a series of economic decision-making tasks, once while experiencing acute thermal pain and once in a no-pain control condition. Results indicated that pain increased risk taking for monetary gains but not for equivalent losses, and increased impatience.

In Paper II, we investigated the effect of affective touch on betrayal aversion, altruism, and risk taking. Participants (n = 120) performed a series of economic decision-making tasks, once while being stroked on the forearm at CT-optimal speed using a soft painter’s brush and once in a no-touch control condition. Results indicated no effect of affective touch on any of the outcome measures.

In Paper III, we investigated how the ability to affect an upcoming painful event via voluntary action influences cortical processing of ongoing somatosensory stimulation. fMRI data was collected from 30 participants while they performed a task that involved pressing a response button to reduce the duration of upcoming thermal stimuli. Whole-brain analyses revealed no significant task-related effects in brain regions typically involved in pain, except activation in a cluster in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was greater when upcoming stimulation was painful than when it was nonpainful. However, region-of-interest analyses in anterior insula (AI) and midcingulate cortex (MCC) indicated that the noxious nature of the upcoming stimulation, as well as the ability to affect it, influenced processing of ongoing stimulation in both of these regions. Activation in MCC, but not AI, also correlated with response times.

Taken together, these studies contribute to the broader understanding of everyday decision making, and of how affective experiences such as pain and touch shape everyday decisions and behaviors.

Abstract [sv]

Stimulering av nervfibrer i huden kan ge upphov till starka känsloupplevelser. Skadliga eller potentiellt skadliga stimuli kan ge upphov till smärta, en obehaglig upplevelse som i sin tur orsakar lidande och har stora socioekonomiska konsekvenser. Beröring, å andra sidan, kan upplevas som behagligt och är en viktig del av sociala relationer. Förhållandevis lite kunskap finns dock om hur smärta och beröring påverkar vardagligt beslutsfattande. Blir vi otåliga av att uppleva smärta? Tar vi fler risker? Gör beröring oss snällare och mer tillitsfulla? I denna avhandling presenteras tre studier som försöker svara på denna typ av frågor.

I den första studien fick deltagarna smärtsam värmestimulering samtidigt som de fattade beslut om pengar. Besluten involverade t.ex. att välja mellan en säker vinst på 50 kr eller att singla slant om att vinna 100 kr. Resultaten visade att smärta ökade risktagande för vinster, men inte för motsvarande förluster. Deltagare som upplevde smärta var även mer otåliga, dvs. de föredrog i större utsträckning snabba belöningar.

I den andra studien fick deltagarna beröring med en mjuk pensel samtidigt som de fattade beslut. Lätt, smekande beröring aktiverar en särskild typ av nervfibrer, som tros signalera affektiva och socialt relevanta aspekter av beröring. Beröring ökar även utsöndringen av hormonet oxytocin, som sägs öka känslan av tillit till andra människor, även om de vetenskapliga bevisen för detta är motstridiga. Resultaten av studien visade ingen effekt av beröring på beslutsfattande.

I den tredje studien undersöktes hjärnans aktivitet vid smärtsam stimulering. Vi vet sedan tidigare att hjärnan inte bara reagerar på det som händer just nu, utan att den även förbereder inför vad som kan komma att hända i framtiden. Deltagarna fick smärtsam eller icke-smärtsam värmestimulering samtidigt som de utförde en uppgift som innebar att de skulle trycka på en knapp för att förkorta en kommande värmestimulering. Resultaten visade att hjärnans bearbetning av pågående stimulering påverkades av huruvida nästkommande stimulering var smärtsam eller inte och huruvida den gick att påverka.

Sammantaget bidrar dessa studier till en ökad förståelse av hur människor fattar beslut och hur upplevelser som smärta och beröring påverkar vardagligt beslutfattande och beteende. Smärta har en stark koppling till beteende, eftersom vi snabbt måste kunna agera för att undvika skada. Beröring, däremot, upplevs på olika sätt beroende på den sociala kontexten, vilket troligtvis också påverkar beröringens effekt på beteende.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2020. p. 87
Series
Linköping University Medical Dissertations, ISSN 0345-0082 ; 1756
National Category
Neurosciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-171082 (URN)10.3384/diss.diva-171082 (DOI)9789179297862 (ISBN)
Public defence
2020-12-10, Online through Zoom (contact india.morrison@liu.se) and Belladonna, Building 511, Campus US, Linköping, 13:15 (English)
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Supervisors
Available from: 2020-11-04 Created: 2020-11-03 Last updated: 2021-12-28Bibliographically approved

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Koppel, LinaAndersson, DavidMorrison, IndiaVästfjäll, DanielTinghög, Gustav
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