Date of Award

4-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Psychological Science

Program

Psychological Science (MS)

First Advisor/Chairperson

Jon Barch

Abstract

Social media has become increasingly relevant, especially among young adults. Those with social anxiety are more at risk for problematic social media use. Social media increases activity in the brain's reward centers. A common measure of the neural correlates of reward is the event-related potential, reward positivity (RewP) in EEG. Heightened RewP is associated with greater social anxiety. Problematic social media use is also associated with greater social anxiety. The neural correlates of reward elicited from social media use have yet to be adequately explored. The current research used continuous high-density electroencephalography to measure reward sensitivity when viewing positive or negative feedback on social media. Social anxiety and problematic social media use were also measured. It was predicted that reward sensitivity (measured using RewP) would be positively related to problematic social media use, and social anxiety will exacerbate this relationship. The proposed relationship was not supported. There was a negative relationship between RewP and problematic social media use that might become significant with greater statistical power, so a larger sample is recommended to examine this relationship. The results also suggested a potential interaction of social anxiety and RewP, such that social anxiety may only increase problematic use for those with higher RewP. Further research on these relationships could have implications for the understanding of the neural correlates of social media use and potential risk factors for problematic social media use.

Access Type

Open Access

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Kaylee Mercer.pdf (30 kB)
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