Attachment--and loss.

This meta-analysis reviews 208 laboratory studies of acute psychological stressors and tests a theoretical model delineating conditions capable of eliciting cortisol responses. Psychological stressors increased cortisol levels; however, effects varied widely across tasks. Consistent with the theoretical model, motivated performance tasks elicited cortisol responses if they were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others), when methodological factors and other stressor characteristics were controlled for. Tasks containing both uncontrollable and social-evaluative elements were associated with the largest cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone changes and the longest times to recovery. These findings are consistent with the animal literature on the physiological effects of uncontrollable social threat and contradict the belief that cortisol is responsive to all types of stressors.

http://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/media/Course_files/anth-260-edward-h-hagen/acute-stressors-and-cortisol-responses-a-theoretical-integration-and-synthesis-of-laboratory-research-1.pdf

Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research.

Perceived discrimination has been studied with regard to its impact on several types of health effects. This meta-analysis provides a comprehensive account of the relationships between multiple forms of perceived discrimination and both mental and physical health outcomes. In addition, this meta-analysis examines potential mechanisms by which perceiving discrimination may affect health, including through psychological and physiological stress responses and health behaviors. Analysis of 134 samples suggests that when weighting each study's contribution by sample size, perceived discrimination has a significant negative effect on both mental and physical health. Perceived discrimination also produces significantly heightened stress responses and is related to participation in unhealthy and nonparticipation in healthy behaviors. These findings suggest potential pathways linking perceived discrimination to negative health outcomes.

/pdf/perceived-discrimination-and-health-a-meta-analytic-review-4aai112ban.pdf

Perceived discrimination and health: a meta-analytic review.

Inflammation and Its Discontents: The Role of Cytokines in the Pathophysiology of Major Depression

This chapter addresses the psychological effects of social stigma. Stigma directly affects the stigmatized via mechanisms of discrimination, expectancy confirmation, and automatic stereotype activation, and indirectly via threats to personal and social identity. We review and organize recent theory and empirical research within an identity threat model of stigma. This model posits that situational cues, collective representations of one's stigma status, and personal beliefs and motives shape appraisals of the significance of stigma-relevant situations for well-being. Identity threat results when stigma-relevant stressors are appraised as potentially harmful to one's social identity and as exceeding one's coping resources. Identity threat creates involuntary stress responses and motivates attempts at threat reduction through coping strategies. Stress responses and coping efforts affect important outcomes such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and health. Identity threat perspectives help to explain the...

https://courses.washington.edu/pbafhall/514/514%20Readings/majorandobrien.pdf

The social psychology of stigma.

Background Recent research has supported the premise that performance conditions characterized by social-evaluative threat, in which an aspect of the self could be judged by others, are associated with cortisol responses. However, it remains unclear whether this effect is due to negative social evaluation per se or simply the presence of another during a performance situation. Method In the present study, 89 undergraduates delivered a speech in 1 of 3 conditions: in front of an evaluative audience panel (social-evaluative threat [SET]), in the presence of an inattentive confederate (PRES), or alone in a room (non-SET). Results Consistent with hypotheses, participants in the SET condition demonstrated a significant cortisol response, while those in the non-SET and PRES conditions did not show increases in this hormone. Further, participants in the SET condition who reported greater posttask levels of self-conscious cognitions and emotions demonstrated the greatest increases in cortisol. Conclusion These findings suggest that the mere social presence of others is not driving the changes in cortisol observed under social-evaluative threat; instead, explicit negative social evaluation may be responsible for increases in this health-relevant physiological parameter.

Negative social evaluation, but not mere social presence, elicits cortisol responses to a laboratory stressor task.

This study experimentally tested whether a stressor characterized by social-evaluative threat (SET), a context in which the self can be judged negatively by others, would elicit increases in proinflammatory cytokine activity and alter the regulation of this response. This hypothesis was derived in part from research on immunological responses to social threat in nonhuman animals. Healthy female participants were assigned to perform a speech and a math task in the presence or absence of an evaluative audience (SET or non-SET, respectively). As hypothesized, stimulated production of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) increased from baseline to poststressor in the SET condition, but was unchanged in the non-SET condition. Further, the increases in TNF-α production correlated with participants' cognitive appraisals of being evaluated. Additionally, the ability of glucocorticoids to shut down the inflammatory response was decreased in the SET condition. These findings underscore the i...

/pdf/social-evaluative-threat-and-proinflammatory-cytokine-38xppy22wg.pdf

Social-Evaluative Threat and Proinflammatory Cytokine Regulation: An Experimental Laboratory Investigation

Objectives:Rumination has been linked to self-reported sleep quality. However, whether rumination is related to an objective sleep parameter has not been tested. This study examined whether rumination predicts sleep onset latency (SOL) on the night after an acute psychosocial stressor. We hypothesiz

Rumination predicts longer sleep onset latency after an acute psychosocial stressor

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/34908.pdf

Emotion regulation and cortisol reactivity to a social-evaluative speech task

Objective For some, a stressor's psychological and physiological influence ceases on removal; for others, the effects may persist through rumination. These repetitive, intrusive thoughts might prolong physiological stress responses. Previous studies produced mixed results, indicating a need to clarify the relationship between rumination and cortisol responses. The current study investigated whether a laboratory speech task is sufficient to elicit rumination and whether those who ruminated in response to the speech task have elevated cortis of responses. Additionally, whether trait depressive rumination follows a similar pattern was examined. It was hypothesized that those delivering speeches in a social-evaluative context would experience more posttask rumination and that greater posttask rumination would predict elevated cortisol responses. Methods Eighty-nine participants performed a speech in front of an evaluative panel (SET) or in one of two nonexplicitly evaluative conditions. Participants indicated the frequency of the thoughts they experienced during a 10-minute rest period after the speech as a measure of posttask rumination. Salivary cortisol was collected at five time points throughout the session. Results The SET condition elicited more posttask rumination than the nonexplicitly evaluative conditions. Posttask rumination was associated with amplified and prolonged elevations in cortisol across all conditions. Trait depressive rumination was associated with blunted cortisol responses in the SET condition. There was no association between trait depressive rumination and cortisol responses in the nonexplicitly evaluative conditions. Conclusion Results suggest that the nature of the relationship between cortisol activation and rumination may be contingent on how rumination is conceptualized and measured.

Sally S. Dickerson

Papers

Negative social evaluation, but not mere social presence, elicits cortisol responses to a laboratory stressor task.

Social-Evaluative Threat and Proinflammatory Cytokine Regulation: An Experimental Laboratory Investigation

Rumination predicts longer sleep onset latency after an acute psychosocial stressor

Emotion regulation and cortisol reactivity to a social-evaluative speech task

Rumination and cortisol responses to laboratory stressors.