Physiological and behavioral reactivity to social exclusion: a functional infrared thermal imaging study in patients with psoriasis
Recent studies show that sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity can be heavily impacted not only by basic threats to survival, but by threats to social bonds. Herein we explored the behavioral and physiological consequences of social exclusion/inclusion in patients with psoriasis, a disease frequently associated with the experience of being ostracized and deficient emotion regulation skills. We employed a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball) to induce the experience of social exclusion/inclusion. We then used a Trust game to measure the effects of this social modulation on trust.