Neuroimaging social rejection. A study examined the correlates of social exclusion (a social stressor) by neuroimaging an activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (a part of the brain whose activity is associated with physical pain). Study subjects filled out a questionnaire that assessed the degree to which they felt excluded from a social activity (DISTRESS). A functional MRI was then used to measure activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (fMRI_ACC). Data are:

ID DISTRESS fMRI_ACC 1 1.2

−0.05 2 1.9

−0.04 3 1.1

−0.03 4 2.5

−0.02 5 2.2

−0.02 6 2.7 0.02 7 

0.02 8 2.2 0.03 9 2.6 0.03 10 2.8 0.03 11 2.8 0.06 12 3.3 0.08 13 3.7 0.12 Data from Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003). Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion, Figure 2A. Science, 302(5643), 290–292. Datafile:

EISENBERGER2003.*.

(a) Create a scatterplot of the data. Interpret what you see.

(b) Calculate correlation coefficient r. Interpret this result. Test the correlation for statistical significance. Show all hypothesis testing steps.