New study shows Facebook use elevates mood

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People visit social networking sites such as Facebook for many reasons, including the positive emotional experience that people enjoy and want to repeat, according to an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The article is available free online at http://www.liebertpub.com/cyber

Measurements of physical and psychological responses such as breathing rate, brain activation, and pupil dilation, designed to assess a person’s psychophysiological state, were collected in a group of individuals participating in either a relaxing or stressful task or being online on their own personal Facebook account. The results revealed a significantly different experience for stress or relaxation exposure compared to the response to Facebook.

Maurizio Mauri, PhD, Pietro Cipresso, PhD, Anna Balgera, MA, Marco Villamira, PhD, MD, and Giuseppe Riva, PhD, from IULM University, Auxologico Italian Institute, and Catholic University of Sacro Cuore, in Milan, Italy, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, report the design, findings, and conclusions of this study in the article entitled, “Why Is Facebook so Successful? Psychophysiological Measures Describe a Core Flow State while Using Facebook.”

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Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at http://www.liebertpub.com/cyber

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide.

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Cathia Falvey

914-740-2100
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

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People are more and more using social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook and MySpace to engage with others. The use of SNSs can have both positive and negative effect on the individual; however, the increasing use of SNSs might reveal that people look for SNSs because they have a positive experience when they use them. Few studies have tried to identify which particular aspects of the social networking experience make SNSs so successful. In this study we focus on the affective experience evoked by SNSs. In particular, we explore whether the use of SNSs elicits a specific psychophysiological pattern. Specifically, we recorded skin conductance, blood volume pulse, electroencephalogram, electromyography, respiratory activity, and pupil dilation in 30 healthy subjects during a 3-minute exposure to (a) a slide show of natural panoramas (relaxation condition), (b) the subject’s personal Facebook account, and (c) a Stroop and mathematical task (stress condition). Statistical analysis of the psychophysiological data and pupil dilation indicates that the Facebook experience was significantly different from stress and relaxation on many linear and spectral indices of somatic activity. Moreover, the biological signals revealed that Facebook use can evoke a psychophysiological state characterized by high positive valence and high arousal (Core Flow State). These findings support the hypothesis that the successful spread of SNSs might be

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Maurizio Mauri, Ph.D., Pietro Cipresso, Ph.D., Anna Balgera, M.A., Marco Villamira, Ph.D., M.D., and Giuseppe Riva, Ph.D.

Institute of Human, Language and Environmental Sciences, IULM University, Milan, Italy.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto Auxologico Italiano–IRCCS, Milano, Italy.
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita` Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy.

Address correspondence to
Dr. Maurizio Mauri
Institute of Human, Language and Environmental Sciences
IULM University
Via Carlo Bo, 8
Milan 20143
Italy
;

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