ArticlePloS one2019
Holding soft objects increases expectation and disappointment in the Cyberball task.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Exclusion from Close Versus Distant Relationships on Inhibitory Control: An ERP Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The electrophysiological characteristics of social exclusion: the perspective of close and distant relationships.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Soft haptic sensation increases the expectation in the social context but not in the non-social context.Experimental brain research · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
When a person is excluded from a group, she/he often experiences negative emotions, referred to as social pain. Previous studies have reported that touching/holding soft objects can lead to a decrease of negative attitude toward uncertain events, and it is possible that such physical intervention may also be effective for reducing social pain induced by the group exclusion. This study examines the effects of holding soft objects on social pain. Participants held either a soft or hard cushion while performing the Cyberball task, a virtual ball-tossing game that experimentally controls social exclusion. In addition to the subjective rating of social pain, we measured the contingent negative variation (CNV) of event-related potentials, a variable related to perceivers' expectations about forthcoming events. Results showed that, contrary to our prediction, holding a soft cushion increased the subjective rating of social pain. Furthermore, holding a soft cushion increased the amplitude of CNV while performing the Cyberball task. These results suggest that holding soft objects increases expectations about uncertain forthcoming events, but it does not reduce negative emotion.
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