Homeostatic regulation of energetic arousal during acute social isolation: Evidence from the lab and the field

Stijovic, Ana, Forbes, Paul A. G., Tomova, Livia, Skoluda, Nadine, Feneberg, Anja C., Piperno, Giulio, Pronizius, Ekaterina, Nater, Urs M., Lamm, Claus and Silani, Giorgia 2023. Homeostatic regulation of energetic arousal during acute social isolation: Evidence from the lab and the field. Psychological Science 34 (5) , pp. 537-551. 10.1177/09567976231156413

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Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that social contact is a basic need governed by a social homeostatic system. Little is known, however, about how conditions of altered social homeostasis affect human psychology and physiology. Here, we investigated the effects of 8 hr of social isolation on psychological and physiological variables and compared this with 8 hr of food deprivation in a lab experiment (N = 30 adult women). Social isolation led to lowered self-reported energetic arousal and heightened fatigue, comparable with food deprivation. To test whether these findings would extend to a real-life setting, we conducted a preregistered field study during a COVID-19 lockdown (N = 87 adults; 47 women). The drop in energetic arousal after social isolation observed in the lab replicated in the field study for participants who lived alone or reported high sociability, suggesting that lowered energy could be part of a homeostatic response to the lack of social contact.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0956-7976
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	17 January 2023
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2024 13:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168251

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