The Social Consequences of Defensive Physiological States
Barnsley, Megan Christina
Date: 15 August 2012
Thesis or dissertation
Publisher
University of Exeter
Degree Title
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology
Abstract
This thesis examines the validity of polyvagal theory as a model of normal
socio-emotional responding (Porges, 1995, 2001, 2003a). Polyvagal theory makes
several claims, and to date many of its predictions lack empirical testing. In the current
research, five main hypotheses stemming from polyvagal theory were identified and
tested ...
This thesis examines the validity of polyvagal theory as a model of normal
socio-emotional responding (Porges, 1995, 2001, 2003a). Polyvagal theory makes
several claims, and to date many of its predictions lack empirical testing. In the current
research, five main hypotheses stemming from polyvagal theory were identified and
tested using healthy participants. The initial empirical study examined the influence of
laboratory stressors on autonomic function. The findings revealed that social evaluative
threat increases activation of the sympathetic nervous system more than a virtual reality
maze, and that arousal remains elevated for longer during anticipation of social
evaluative threat in comparison to recovery from social evaluative threat. The second
study investigated the effects of emotion regulation strategies on autonomic function,
and highlighted the effectiveness of two meditation practices in reducing defensive
physiological arousal and increasing subjective positive emotion. These studies were
followed with a set of studies designed to evaluate the effects of defensive physiological
arousal on socio-emotional functioning, as a direct test of polyvagal theory. The first
study examined the effects of a laboratory stressor on facial expressivity, revealing that
social evaluative threat had little impact on expressive regulation. A second study
investigated the effects of a laboratory stressor on emotional sensitivity and spontaneous
facial mimicry. Some limited support was found for polyvagal theory, although neither
emotional sensitivity nor facial mimicry was significantly affected by laboratory stress.
A final empirical study investigated the effects of a laboratory stressor on affiliation
tendencies. The laboratory stressor did not influence participants’ willingness to spend
time with others, however the experiment did reveal significant relationships between
markers of social safeness and affiliation. The overall conclusion of this thesis is that
polyvagal may not be a representative model of socio-emotional functioning in healthy
participants. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the validity
of polyvagal theory as a universal model of socio-emotional responding.
Doctoral Theses
Doctoral College
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