% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3224027,
title = {{Socio-cultural norms of body size in Westerners and Polynesians affect heart rate variability and emotion during social interactions}},
author = {Schrimpf, Anne and McGarvey, Stephen and Haun, Daniel and Kube, Jana and Villringer, Arno and Gaebler, Michael},
language = {eng},
issn = {2193-8652},
doi = {10.1007/s40167-018-0071-5},
publisher = {Springer},
address = {Heidelberg},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06},
abstract = {{The perception of body size and thus weight-related stigmatization vary between cultures. Both are stronger in Western than in Polynesian societies. Negative emotional experiences alter one{\textquoteright}s behavioral, psychological, and physiological reactions in social interactions. This study compared affective and autonomic nervous system responses to social interactions in Germany and American Samoa, two societies with different body-size related norms. German (n {\textequals} 55) and Samoan (n {\textequals} 56) volunteers with and without obesity participated in a virtual ball-tossing game that comprised episodes of social inclusion and social exclusion. During the experiment, heart rate was measured and parasympathetic activity (i.e., high-frequency heart rate variability) was analyzed. We found differences in both emotional experience and autonomic cardio-regulation between the two cultures: during social inclusion, Germans but not Samoans showed increased parasympathetic activity. In Germans with obesity, this increase was related to a more negative body image (comprising high rates of weight-related teasing). During social exclusion, Samoans showed parasympathetic withdrawal regardless of obesity status, while Germans with obesity showed a stronger increase in parasympathetic activity than lean Germans. Furthermore, we found fewer obesity-related differences in emotional arousal after social exclusion in Samoans as compared to Germans. Investigating the interplay of socio-cultural, psychological, and biological aspects, our results suggest influences of body size-related socio-cultural norms on parasympathetic cardio-regulation and negative emotions during social interactions.}},
journal = {{Culture and Brain}},
volume = {7},
number = {1},
pages = {26--56},
}