A previous study suggested that holding soft objects enhanced expectations of uncertain events and increased social pain under frequent negative feedback; i.e., higher expectations might have induced more disappointment. The present study examined the effects of holding a soft cushion under frequent positive feedback. Participants (n = 42) performed fair-play and over-inclusion blocks in the Cyberball task. Amplitudes of the contingent negative variation (CNV) of event-related brain potentials and subjective ratings of social pain were measured to estimate participants’ expectations and emotions, respectively. CNV amplitudes were higher in the over-inclusion block when participants held the soft than the hard cushion. There was a statistically marginal trend (p = .095) for lower social pain scores in the soft cushion condition than the hard cushion condition in contrast to previous findings. These results suggest that holding a soft object does not directly modulate emotions but instead acts through the mediation of enhanced expectations.

先前的一项研究表明，在频繁的负面反馈下，握住柔软的物体会增强对不确定事件的预期并增加社交痛苦；即，更高的期望可能会导致更多的失望。本研究检查了在频繁的正反馈下握住软垫的效果。参与者 ( n  = 42) 在 Cyber​​ball 任务中执行公平竞争和过度包含块。测量事件相关脑电位的偶然负变化 (CNV) 幅度和社会疼痛的主观评级，以分别估计参与者的期望和情绪。当参与者持有软垫时，过度包含块中的 CNV 幅度高于硬垫。存在统计学上的边际趋势（p = .095) 与之前的研究结果相比，软垫条件下的社交疼痛评分低于硬垫条件。这些结果表明，握住柔软的物体并不会直接调节情绪，而是通过增强预期的中介作用。