There is a party in my head and no one is invited: resting state electrocortical activity and solitude

Abstract

Objective: what are the motivational underpinnings of solitude? We know from self-report studies that increases in solitude are associated with drops in approach motivation and rises in avoidance motivation, but only when solitude is experienced as non-self-determined (i.e., non-autonomous). However, the extent to which individual differences in solitude relate to neurophysiological markers of approach-avoidance motivation derived from resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) is unknown. These markers are frontal alpha asymmetry, beta suppression, and midline posterior versus frontal EEG theta activity.

Method: we assessed the relation among individual differences in the reasons for solitude (i.e., preference for solitude, motivation for solitude), approach-avoidance motivation, and resting-state EEG markers of approach-avoidance motivation (N = 115).

Results: general preference for solitude was negatively related to approach motivation, observed in both self-reported measures and EEG markers of approach motivation. Self-determined solitude was positively related to both self-reported approach motivation and avoidance motivation in the social domain (i.e., friendship). Non-self-determined solitude was negatively associated with self-reported avoidance motivation.

Conclusion: this research was a preliminary attempt to address the neurophysiological underpinnings of solitude in the context of motivation.

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Identifiers

ORCID for C. Sedikides: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

ORCID for N.J. Kelley: orcid.org/0000-0003-2256-0597

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