How to modify expectations of social rejection? An experimental study using a false-feedback paradigm

Abstract

Background and objectives: Negative expectations (NEs) are fundamental to various mental disorders. Finding ways to modulate NEs would help to improve clinical treatment. The present study investigated how previously formed expectations of social rejection are revised in the context of novel positive social experiences, and whether their revision can be modulated by differentially shifting participants' attentional focus.

Methods: Our sample of 124 healthy participants was randomly assigned to four experimental conditions and received manipulated social feedback in multiple alleged webcam conferences. All groups went through three experimental phases that began with predominantly negative social feedback, then either transitioned to predominantly positive social feedback or continued to predominantly negative social feedback, and ultimately transitioning to a phase with no explicit social feedback. The experimental conditions differed in what they were instructed to focus on when receiving positive social feedback.

Results: Receiving novel positive social feedback led to substantial changes in social expectations, but this effect was not modulated by the instructions the participants were given. Descriptive trends revealed that both instructions improved NE modification, although this effect was not robust to extinction in one condition.

Limitations: To prevent our cover story from being compromised, we could not perform an immediate manipulation check of the instructions given. Nevertheless, some of the sample seemed suspicious about the cover story.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that established expectations of social rejection can be revised when unexpectedly experiencing social acceptance. Nevertheless, more research is needed on potential instructions that could be used to optimize the modification of NEs.

Keywords: ViolEx model; cognitive immunisation; expectation modification; expectation violation; expectation-focused psychological interventions; negative expectations; social rejection.