The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses

Theatre-based practices, such as improvisation, are frequently applied to simulate everyday social interactions. Although the improvisational context is acknowledged as fictional, realistic emotions may emerge, a phenomenon labelled the ‘paradox of fiction’. This study investigated how manipulating...

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Autores principales:	Sirke Seppänen, Tapio Toivanen, Tommi Makkonen, Iiro P. Jääskeläinen, Kaisa Tiippana
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	improvisation social rejection theatre-based practices experiential learning paradox of fiction social interaction Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8dda2e2a06944875a69559bb7c198984
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8dda2e2a06944875a69559bb7c1989842021-11-25T16:57:52ZThe Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses10.3390/brainsci111114632076-3425https://doaj.org/article/8dda2e2a06944875a69559bb7c1989842021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/11/1463https://doaj.org/toc/2076-3425Theatre-based practices, such as improvisation, are frequently applied to simulate everyday social interactions. Although the improvisational context is acknowledged as fictional, realistic emotions may emerge, a phenomenon labelled the ‘paradox of fiction’. This study investigated how manipulating the context (real-life versus fictional) modulates psychophysiological reactivity to social rejection during dyadic interactions. We measured psychophysiological responses elicited during real-life (interview) and fictional (improvisation exercises) social rejections. We analysed the heart rate (HR), skin conductance, facial muscle activity, and electrocortical activity (electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry) of student teachers (<i>N</i> = 39) during various social rejections (devaluing, interrupting, nonverbal rejection). All social rejections evoked negative EEG alpha asymmetry, a measure reflecting behavioural withdrawal motivation. Psychophysiological responses during real-life and fictional rejections correlated, and rejection type modified the responses. When comparing responses across all rejection types, facial muscle activity and EEG alpha asymmetry did not differ between real-life and fictional rejections, whereas HR decelerated and skin conductance increased during fictional rejections. These findings demonstrate that regardless of cognitive awareness of fictionality, relatively subtle social rejections elicited psychophysiological reactivity indicating emotional arousal and negative valence. These findings provide novel, biological evidence for the application of theatre-based improvisation to studying experientially everyday social encounters.Sirke SeppänenTapio ToivanenTommi MakkonenIiro P. JääskeläinenKaisa TiippanaMDPI AGarticleimprovisationsocial rejectiontheatre-based practicesexperiential learningparadox of fictionsocial interactionNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENBrain Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 1463, p 1463 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	improvisation social rejection theatre-based practices experiential learning paradox of fiction social interaction Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
spellingShingle	improvisation social rejection theatre-based practices experiential learning paradox of fiction social interaction Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Sirke Seppänen Tapio Toivanen Tommi Makkonen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Kaisa Tiippana The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
description	Theatre-based practices, such as improvisation, are frequently applied to simulate everyday social interactions. Although the improvisational context is acknowledged as fictional, realistic emotions may emerge, a phenomenon labelled the ‘paradox of fiction’. This study investigated how manipulating the context (real-life versus fictional) modulates psychophysiological reactivity to social rejection during dyadic interactions. We measured psychophysiological responses elicited during real-life (interview) and fictional (improvisation exercises) social rejections. We analysed the heart rate (HR), skin conductance, facial muscle activity, and electrocortical activity (electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry) of student teachers (<i>N</i> = 39) during various social rejections (devaluing, interrupting, nonverbal rejection). All social rejections evoked negative EEG alpha asymmetry, a measure reflecting behavioural withdrawal motivation. Psychophysiological responses during real-life and fictional rejections correlated, and rejection type modified the responses. When comparing responses across all rejection types, facial muscle activity and EEG alpha asymmetry did not differ between real-life and fictional rejections, whereas HR decelerated and skin conductance increased during fictional rejections. These findings demonstrate that regardless of cognitive awareness of fictionality, relatively subtle social rejections elicited psychophysiological reactivity indicating emotional arousal and negative valence. These findings provide novel, biological evidence for the application of theatre-based improvisation to studying experientially everyday social encounters.
format	article
author	Sirke Seppänen Tapio Toivanen Tommi Makkonen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Kaisa Tiippana
author_facet	Sirke Seppänen Tapio Toivanen Tommi Makkonen Iiro P. Jääskeläinen Kaisa Tiippana
author_sort	Sirke Seppänen
title	The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
title_short	The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
title_full	The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
title_fullStr	The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
title_full_unstemmed	The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses
title_sort	paradox of fiction revisited—improvised fictional and real-life social rejections evoke associated and relatively similar psychophysiological responses
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/8dda2e2a06944875a69559bb7c198984
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The Paradox of Fiction Revisited—Improvised Fictional and Real-Life Social Rejections Evoke Associated and Relatively Similar Psychophysiological Responses

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