Perry et Al-SA Flashcards
Perry et AL-
Ot promotes closer Interpersonal distance among highly empathic individuals.
-IP
-OT-love hormone
-Empathy
proxemics
Proxemics is the study of personal space and the degree of separation that individuals maintain between each other in social situations.
Psychology Being Investigated- Interpersonal distance (personal space)
The term interpersonal distance refers to the distance between two people. People’s preferred distance from others may vary depending on their relationship to the other person, cultural norms or personal factors. If another person were to enter into this personal space, a person may feel uncomfortable or threatened.
According to Hall (1966), 4 THE SOCIAL APPROACH there are four zones of interpersonal distance depending on the relationship between two people: intimate distance for close family members or lntimate relationships, personal distance for everyday interactions with others, social distance for formal interactions and public distance for public figures (e.g. a lecturer).
Psychology being investigated-Empathy
Empathy is a trait which plays an important role in social relationships. Empathy refers to a person’s ability to understand the thoughts, feelings and experiences of another and comprises 2 dimensions. Cognitive and affective empathy. cognitive empathy refers to a person’s ability to determine another person’s emotional state, while affective empathy refers to their ability ta feel’ that same emotional state. Research points towards a person’s level of empathy affecting the way they process social cues and respond emotionally.
Psychology being Investigated-Social hormones
Oxytocin is a social hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter.
The hormone oxytocin plays a role in social bonding, childbirth and breastfeeding and has been seen to promote prosocial and approach behaviours. However, research has also shown that in some contexts oxytocin can actually lead to envy, risk aversion and feelings of hostility cowards strangers, Scheele el al. (2012) found that administering oxytocin to males in monogamous relationships increased their preferred interpersonal distace from an attractive female when in the presence of a female researcher, compared to a control condition. This key study focuses on the role of oxytocin and how it affects people’s preferences for interpersonal distance (personal space), depending on whether they are high or low in the trait or empathy-
Background-amygdala
The amygdala has been shown to play a role in preferred interpersonal distances.
Lesions to the amygdala lead to a reduced need for interpersonal distance from others. Additionally, the more discomfort people feel with an interpersonal distance that is too close, the higher their levels of amygdala activity.
Amygdala activity is known to be affected by the hormone oxytocin.
Background-general
Background Perry et al. were interested in the effects of oxytocin on people’s preferred interpersonal distances, depending on whether they were high or low in the trait of empathy.
Background-Social salience hypothesis
The leading hypothesis about the social effects of oxytocin is called the social salience hypothesis, which predicts that oxytocin increases attention to social cues, affecting how a person may process these cues and respond in different ways, depending on the social setting. While one person may feel comfortable and relaxed in a certain social setting, another person may feel stressed and intimidated. Social salience may, therefore, affect people in opposite ways.
Perry et al wanted to test the social salience hypothesis and see whether administering oxytocin would cause people to process social situations more deeply and affect their resulting behaviour based on their evaluation of a social situation. Perry et al. believed that if a person felt comfortable in the presence of another then this feeling may be enhanced. Conversely, if a person were to feel threatened then this response might also be enhanced.
Perry et Al. In brief
Perry et al. predicted that people who are highly empathetic would be more likely to prefer closer interpersonal distances following administration of oxytocin versus a placebo (a saline solution) while oxytocin would cause those with low empathetic traits to prefer greater interpersonal distances.
They wanted to test this theory experimentally in a laboratory setting which would have high levels of control and produce quantitative data that they could statistically analyse.
AIM
To investigate how oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distance for those scoring high or low in empathy traits.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
he participants took part in two experiments. Half of the participants did Experiment 1 first and the other half did Experiment 2 first. These experiments took place in a laboratory setting, where extraneous variables that might have affected preferred interpersonal distance were controlled. The researchers compared preferred interpersonal distance between different groups and conditions.
Design and variables
The first independent variable was whether the participants received nasal drops containing oxytocin or a placebo (saline solution). As all participants took part in both conditions, this part of the experiment was repeated measures. To avoid order effects, the researchers randomised whether the participant received the oxytocin first or the saline.
A week later, when the participants returned for the second part of the study, they received the alternative treatment (i.e. those that received saline in week one, received oxytocin in week two, and vice versa).
The administration of the treatments saline and oxytocin| was also double-blind, so neither the participant nor the experimenter knew which solution had been administered each week. Perry et al. were interested in whether oxytocin affected people in different ways depending on their level of empathy (their second independent variable), so they divided the participants into two groups.
As participants could only be in one group, high or low empathy, this part of the design was independent measures. High or Low empathy was operationalised using a 28-item online questionnaire called the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1983), This questionnaire has four seven-item sub-sections, each assessing a different component of empathy. The people in the high empathy group (n = 20)had scores of 40 and over, while the people in the low empathy group In = 20] had scores of 33 and under.
Experiment 1
In the first experiment, Perry et al. measured preferred interpersonal distance [the dependent variable] using a computer animation.
Here, another independent variable was manipulated as the animation tested people on their preferred interpersonal distance from different people la stranger, an authority figure and a friend) and an object la ball).
This part was repeated measures as all participants indicated their preferences in all conditions.
Experiment 2
The second experiment used another computer-based task called choosing rooms” to calculate values for two different dependent variables: the mean average preferred distance and mean average preferred angle between different items of furniture in a room.
The participants were told that the task was to help plan the layout of a room where they would be having a conversation with another participant about a personal topic.
This task allowed the researchers to compare preferences for the spatial arrangement of the chairs (a measure of interpersonal distance preferences and a table and plant (a control condition). This was the final independent variable in the study.
As all participants gave preferences relating to both the chairs and the table and plant, this part of the design was repeated measures.
Variables
Experiment 1
IVS:
-Empathy:High to Low
-Treatment: Ot or Placebo
-Condition: Stranger, Authority, Friend, or Ball
DVS:
-Preferred IP distance: measured using the computerised version of the Comfortable Interpersonal distance (CID) paradigm (a scale of 1-100, where 0 is both figures touching and 100 is the furthest distance).
Experiment 2
IVS:
-Empathy: High to low
-Treatment: Ot or control
-Condition: Positioning of chairs,(experimental condition) VS positioning of table and plant (control condition).
DVS:
-The “choosing rooms” task where pps indicate room layout preferences for a conversation on a personal topic:
-mean average preferred distance between the 2 chairs (cm), Mean average preferred angle of 2 chairs (in degrees).
SAMPLE
The sample consisted of 54 male undergraduates from the University of Haifa in Israel, aged 19-32 years. They received course credit or payment in exchange for their participation. Five were left-handed, none had any history of psychiatric or neurological conditions and all had normal or corrected-to-normal eyesight.
PROCEDURE -Oxytocin administration and empathy assessment
Participants visited the laboratory twice, a week apart, at the same time. On their first visit, they were randomly given either oxytocin (24 units in 250 ml of saline) or a placebo (250 ml of saline without oxytocin). Three droplets were self-administered to each nostril. The following week, they administered the alternative solution. Next, participants completed the empathy questionnaire, the IRI, as described above. Participants then had to wait for 45 minutes in a quiet room, alone, with some nature magazines. This was so that their oxytocin levels would plateau [stabilise) before taking part in the two different experiments.
Procedure-experiment 1 CID
The CID paradigm is a computer animation used to measure preferred interpersonal distance. First, the word friend, stranger, authority or ball appears on the screen for one second. Next, the participant must gaze at a fixation point which appears on the screen for 0.5 seconds. The next screen then shows a plan of a circular room with a stick person at the centre representing the participant.
Next comes an animation that lasts up to three seconds: a stick person or circle Ithe ballI IPerry et al. call this the protagonist) enters the circle from one of eight doors around the edge, before approaching the person in the middle. The participant has to press the spacebar on the computer keyboard when they want the protagonist to stop.
There were 96 trials in total with the four protagonists appearing three times from each of the eight doors. Interpersonal distance was calculated as the percentage of distance remaining between the protagonist and the central figure, from 0% to 100%, so a low score represented close proximity and a high score represented farther proximity.
Procedure-experiment 2: choosing rooms
Participants were told they would be having a meeting with another participant to discuss personal topics and that the room would be laid out according to their preferences, as measured by a computer program. This was not true.
The computer program showed the participants still colour images of pairs of rooms where the chairs, table and plant were at slightly different angles and distances from each other. Eighty-four pairs of rooms were each shown twice, giving a total of 168 pairs. During the task, participants sat 60 cm from the computer screen and were shown each pair of rooms for two seconds. They had to fixate on a point on a blank screen for 0.5 seconds between each pair. Participants chose between the left or the right room.
The experimental conditions were the distance between chairs and the angle of the chairs’ positions, while the control conditions were the distance between the table and plant, as well as the angle of the positions of the table and plant. Only one of these variables differed on each trial.
Results-Experiment 1 CID
- Oxytocin decreased the preferred mean distance from a protagonist in the high empathy group (placebo: 26.11 per cent vs oxytocin: 23.29 per cent) and increased it in the low empathy group (placebo: 26.98 per cent vs oxytocin: 30.20 per cent). This difference, however, was very small.
- In the high empathy group, placebo condition, there were significant differences between the preferred distances for friend and authority, as well as friend and stranger, as expected.
However, not between the ball and all other conditions. When oxytocin was administered, participants were willing to be significantly closer to the ball than the stranger or authority figure.
Results-Experiment 2: Choosing Rooms
Those in the high empathy group chose closer chair distances in the oxytocin condition compared to the placebo condition (80.58 cm versus 78.07 cm), while the opposite effect was found for the low empathy group 178.33 cm in the oxytocin condition versus 80.14 cm in the placebo condition).
The effect of oxytocin on preferred chair distance was only approaching significance for the high empathy group, however.
Oxytocin did not have an effect on preferred chair angle for either the high or the low empathy groups.
Conclusions
Oxytocin affects preferred interpersonal distance (personal space), dependent on empathy levels. Those with high empathy preferred closer interpersonal distances after oxytocin administration compared to a placebo. In contrast, oxytocin increased the preferred interpersonal distance for those with low empathy, compared to a placebo.
The researchers also suggested that oxytocin may only invoke closeness in highly empathetic people for interactions of a less threatening nature, as the effects of oxytocin were more pronounced for the ball protagonist than the stranger or authority figure.
EVALUATION-Ethical issues-Deception
One key criticism of this research is that in Experiment 2 participants were deceived about choosing a room for a personal meeting.
Pps were told that they would need to discuss a personal tonic with another person in a room at the end of the experiment, but then only told the following week that the meeting would not take place.
This may have caused some participants to feel anxious about this future meeting, since the personal topic to be discussed was not disclosed at the time, thus there was a risk of psychological harm.
EVALUATION-Methodological issues-Reliability-Standardisation
A strength of this research is its high level of standardisation. Using a computer allowed seconds and all the furniture items in the room were kept the same.
This means that the procedure can be replicated to see if the findings about the effects of oxytocin and empathy on interpersonal distance are reliable.
EVALUATION-validity-Validity paradigm
A strength of this research was its use of a widely validated paradigm to investigate preferred interpersonal distance, The CID paradigm, involving a protagonist approaching the and age groups in a pen and paper format. It was found to be a valid measure of preferred interpersonal distance, which increases the vatidity of Perry et al’s findings relating to the effects of oxytocin and empathy on interpersonal distance.
EVALUATION-Double blind procedure
The use of a double-blind procedure in the administration of either oxytocin or the placebo was also a strength. Neither the pp nor the experimenter knew which solution was being administered in weeks one and two.
This avoided any experimenter effects or demand characteristics, whereby either the experimenter or the participant consciously of unconsciously infenced the studys findings as a result of any prior expectations about the effects of oxytocin, thus making the findings more valid.
EVALUATION-Self Reports
One weakness of the design was that participants were categorised as being high or low in empathy on the basis of their own self-report, which may be biased. Participants were required to complete the IRI themselves, which may have led some participants to demonstrate social desirability bias.
Ppss may have preferred to be seen as higher in empathy because it is seen as a desirable trait in society and they did not want to be evaluated negatively by the experimenter.
This raises validity issues, as some people low in empathy may have ended up in the high empathy category.
EVALUATION-Objectivity and Subjectivity
A strength of this research was the use of quantitative data, which did not require subjective interpretation from the researchers. For example, Experiment 1 recorded the percentage distance remaining between the door through which a protagonist entered and the participant in the centre.
This data allowed the researchers to objectively compare participants scores in each of the different conditions in an unbiased way, which increased the validity of the results and allowed for a statistical analysis of the findings to be undertaken to determine the strength of any differences.
EVALUATION-Generalisations and Ecological Validty
Generalising beyond the sample One weakness of this study is that it only used male participants. Previous research has shown that males and females respond differently to OT.
For example, OT may induce positive social judgements and altruism in females, while promoting the opposite effect in males.
Therefore, it is not possible to apply the findings of this study relating to ot’s effects on personal space to females.
Generalising to everyday life One issue with this research is the fact that it used computer based tasks in a laboratory setting, which lacks ecological validity.
Asking pps to respond to computer animations would not have recreated the intense feelings of discomfort that a person may feel in a real-life social situation of someone invading their personal space.
Therefore, differences between the control and oxytocin conditions may have been minimised due to the lack of genuine feelings of discomfort, and not reflect real-life preferences.
ISSUES AND DEBATES - Individual and situational explanations
Individual and situational explanations Individual differences appeared to determine the effect OT might have on a person’s social cognition and behaviour.
The researchers found that oxytocin decreased preferred interpersonal distance in those with high empathy traits, yet increased it for those low in empathy.
This finding supports individual explanations for behaviour following oxytocin administration.
On the other hand, administration of OT appeared to affect preferred interpersonal distance in predictable ways and this means that situations that promote OT release may influence social cognition and behaviour.
Research suggests that OT levels increase in many situations, including socialising, especially when this involves touch and eye contact, playing with pets and even when exposing oneself to extremes of temperature (i.e hot and cod).
Therefore, preferred interpersonal distance
could be affected by environmental factors that increase OT. thus suporting a situational explanation for behaviour.
APPLICATIONS TO EVERYDAY LIFE
Improving social behaviour:
-An important implication of this research is that oxytocin administration may not help individuals with social deficits who are seeking support with this - for example, autism spectrum disorders.
-Previous research had suggested this might be helpful (e.g Hollander et al., 2007).
Perry et al. found that whenOT was administered to individuals with low levels of empathy, it actually slightly increased their preferred social distance from others.
Therefore, ot may not be a suitable treatment for males with social disorders and may actually strengthen social biases.
The study needs to be replicated with females to see whether the same effects are found.
-Work and educational spaces
Sample and IRI
if you scored less than 30 you would be in the low empathy group, and more than 40 in high empathy. In between (E.g 35-excluded, hence why there were 20pps in each, 14 excluded out of 54 ).
