Abstract (eng)
Feedback processing is important for adaptively adjusting behavior and electrophysiologically reflected in the so-called feedback-related negativity (FRN) and feedback P3 of the event-related potential (ERP). Applying a time-estimation task, the present study investigated how the socio-emotional salience of the feedback stimuli (emotional faces vs. symbols) modulates the FRN and P3. Moreover, we were particularly interested how socio-emotional personality constructs such as psychopathy and anxiety affect the FRN and P3.
Negative feedback elicited a larger FRN, while positive feedback elicited a larger feedback P3. Faces displaying emotions led to larger FRN and P3 amplitudes than symbols, a finding which might be due to differences in the socio-emotional salience.
Personality showed distinct relationships consistent with literature. Primary psychopathy reflected in the subfactor Social Influence of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised was associated with lower FRN amplitudes, consistent with reported deficits in error monitoring and passive avoidance learning. Moreover, aspects of social anxiety in the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale were associated with increased FRN amplitudes, extending previous anxiety-related ERP findings to social anxiety and FRN. Lower scores in the subscale Body-Related Symbolization of the Emotional Experiences Scale (SEE), possibly reflecting lower interoceptive sensitivity, was associated with reduced P3 amplitudes when processing negative feedback, similar to previous ERP studies. The SEE subscale Emotion Regulation, reflecting self-report of emotional regulation competence, also modulated the P3 component, consistent with previous ERP findings and modal models of emotion processing.
Thus, the findings suggest a strong interrelationship between the salience of feedback stimuli, distinct personality factors, and feedback processing.