The Effects of Observation and Gender on Psychogenic Symptoms.

Why do outbreaks of mass hysteria occur?  While most epidemics of contagious illness can be linked to a clear physical cause, there have been recorded episodes with no known cause.  A research study published in a recent issue of Health Psychology examines the effects of social modeling and its interaction with gender in the production of psychogenic symptoms.  A sample of 60 male and 60 female volunteers were asked to inhale an inert substance described as a suspected environmental toxin that had been reported to provoke 4 physical symptoms (headaches, nausea, itchy skin, and drowsiness). Subsequently, half of the participants observed a confederate inhale and display the 4 expected symptoms. To control for the general tendency of women to report more physical symptoms than men, participants were also asked to rate the presence of 4 unexpected symptoms (watery eyes, scratchy throat, chest tightness, and breathing problems). Symptoms were measured using self-report ratings at 10-min intervals over a 1-hr period.  With unexpected symptoms controlled for, observation of symptom displays increased reports of expected symptoms significantly. In addition, the presence of another person of the same gender as the participant increased the production of expected symptoms, even when symptoms were not modeled by the confederate. There was also a trend for women to show more expected symptoms than men. The authors conclude that, while the effect of modeling was independent of gender, the mere presence of a same-gender individual, as opposed to a person of the opposite gender, increased reports of expected symptoms, regardless of whether the second person (i.e., the confederate) displayed symptoms.  The need for further research is clearly indicated.

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