fei75766_ch10_309-344.indd 336  02/06/20 12:29 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories336
depression hadhigher levels ofescapism andweremost likely toengage inpathologi -
calgaming. Thissuggests thatthese people maybeusing gaming asanescape rather 
thanaproductive outlet forsome oftheirpsychological troubles.
Recently, some veryinteresting neuroscientific research hasinvestigated the
brain andgenetic foundations ofhowpeople respond tothereal-ideal self-discrepancy 
(Shietal.,2016). Previous research hasreported thatwhen people reflect ontheir
ideal compared torealselves theyfeelembarrassment andshame (Higgins etal.,
1985). Yet,these negative feelings canalsoleadtoadesire toimprove oneself and
tofeelgood (Higgins, 1987). Other researcher haveshown there isacluster ofbrain 
structures thatareactivated when people feelgood (likewhen presented withfoodor
drugcues). Thiscluster isinformally known asthe“reward center” (Franklin etal.,
2007; Kober etal.,2010). Onequestion Shiandcolleagues wanted toinvestigate was
whether thereal-ideal self-discrepancy activated thereward center ofthebrain. More -
over, theyalsowanted toexamine whether there aregenetic differences inhowpeo-
plerespond tothereal-ideal discrepancy. More specifically, theywant toinvestigate 
whether there isagenetic difference inserotonin production inpeople astheyreflect 
onthereal-ideal discrepancy. More technically, thedifference isknown a“polymor -
phism” (many forms) inhowmany times anucleotide basepair (ATCG) sequence 
repeats onaserotonin gene. Everyone inherits oneform (allele) from oneparent and
another form from theother parent. These repeating sequences canbeeither short 
(e.g., 14times) orlong(e.g., 16times). Hence, individuals canhavetwoshort ver-
sions ofthegene, twolongones, oroneofeach. People whocarry twoshort forms are
more prone todepression andanxiety thanthose whocarry twolongforms. Shiand
colleagues wanted toseewhether thisgenetic difference wasassociated tohownega-
tively people responded totheirreal-ideal self-discrepancies. Theprediction wasthose 
whocarry twoshort forms oftheserotonin genewould respond more negatively than
those withtwolongforms ofthegene.
Totestthis,theyrecruited 25college students withshort-short forms and25
college students withlong-long forms. Inaddition, Shiandcolleagues measured real-
ideal self-discrepancy byhaving students ratehowfar48personality traits werefrom 
theirideal selves. They alsoasked students toratehowimportant these traits wereto
possess inorder togetameasure ofmuch theywould liketopossess them. Addition -
ally,theyadministered measures ofself-esteem, mood, andlifesatisfaction. Finally, 
participants wereasked toratethereal-ideal self-ratings while inanfMRI machine to
assess regions ofbrain activity during thediscrepancy ratings.
Shiandcolleagues found thatstudents withthelargest real-ideal discrepancy 
hadmore activity inthereward centers ofthebrain compared tothose withsmaller 
discrepancy. They alsofound thathighreward center activation during discrepancy 
ratings wasfound inthose whomost desired theideal traits. Moreover, theshort-
short carriers oftheserotonin gene hadevengreater reward center activity during 
real-ideal reflection thanthose withlong-long forms ofthegene. Forstudents with
short-short forms ofthegene, asreward activity went upduring discrepancy ratings 
theyfeltlesssatisfied withtheir livesandmore depressed. Theopposite pattern 
wasfound withthose withlong-long forms ofthegene: theyfeltmore satisfied 
withtheir livesandlessdepressed. Theshort-short form ofthegene appears to
dispose people toward negative emotion, including reflection upon their real-ideal 
self-discrepancy.Final PDF to printer