The Neural Sociometer: Brain Mechanisms Underlying State Self-esteem

On the basis of the importance of social connection for survival, humans may have evolved a “sociometer”—a mechanism that translates perceptions of rejection or acceptance into state self-esteem. Here, we explored the neural underpinnings of the sociometer by examining whether neural regions respons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of cognitive neuroscience Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 3448 - 3455
Main Authors Eisenberger, Naomi I., Inagaki, Tristen K., Muscatell, Keely A., Byrne Haltom, Kate E., Leary, Mark R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209, USA MIT Press 01.11.2011
MIT Press Journals, The
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Brain
Brain - blood supply
Brain - physiology
Brain Mapping
Emotions
Feedback
Female
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Interpersonal Relations
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neurosciences
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Oxygen - blood
Photic Stimulation
Self Concept
Self esteem
Social Behavior
Sociometric Techniques
Statistics as Topic
Young Adult
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Summary:On the basis of the importance of social connection for survival, humans may have evolved a “sociometer”—a mechanism that translates perceptions of rejection or acceptance into state self-esteem. Here, we explored the neural underpinnings of the sociometer by examining whether neural regions responsive to rejection or acceptance were associated with state self-esteem. Participants underwent fMRI while viewing feedback words (“interesting,” “boring“) ostensibly chosen by another individual (confederate) to describe the participant's previously recorded interview. Participants rated their state self-esteem in response to each feedback word. Results demonstrated that greater activity in rejection-related neural regions (dorsal ACC, anterior insula) and mentalizing regions was associated with lower-state self-esteem. Additionally, participants whose self-esteem decreased from prescan to postscan versus those whose self-esteem did not showed greater medial prefrontal cortical activity, previously associated with self-referential processing, in response to negative feedback. Together, the results inform our understanding of the origin and nature of our feelings about ourselves.
Bibliography:November, 2011
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ISSN:0898-929X
1530-8898
DOI:10.1162/jocn_a_00027