Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, ul. Ingardena 6, 30-060, Kraków, Poland.
Institute of Pedagogy, Jagiellonian University, ul. Batorego 12, 31-135, Kraków, Poland.
Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2020 Mar;45(1):11-16. doi: 10.1007/s10484-019-09449-9.
The purpose of the study was to find whether there were differences in cortisol awakening response (CAR) between a neutral day and an exam day in a group of female students and to explore possible relationships between CAR, self-reported affect, and exam performance. A group of 25 female students took samples of their saliva using Salivettes at the moment of waking and after 30 min. They then described their affect using the PANAS scale. Measures were taken twice: three days before an examination and on the day of the examination. The level of free cortisol in saliva samples was determined using enzyme immunoassay. The integrated volume of cortisol (CARauc) was significantly higher on the day of the exam than on the neutral day. There were also significant differences in affect, with negative higher and positive lower on the exam day, but correlations between cortisol measures and self-reported affect were low and not significant. A negative relationship between integrated volume of cortisol (CARauc) and exam performance was also found. Anticipated exam stress caused a significant increase in CAR in female study participants when compared to a neutral day, but only in the case of integrated volume of cortisol over the waking period (CARauc). The negative relationship between this measure and exam performance can be explained by attributing CARauc to negative expectations concerning the anticipated exam.
这项研究的目的是在一组女学生中，确定在一个中性日和考试日之间，皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）是否存在差异，并探讨 CAR、自我报告的情绪和考试表现之间的可能关系。一组 25 名女学生在醒来时和 30 分钟后使用 Salivettes 采集唾液样本，然后使用 PANAS 量表描述自己的情绪。在两次测量中，考试前三天和考试当天进行测量。使用酶免疫分析法测定唾液样本中游离皮质醇的水平。考试当天的唾液皮质醇积分（CARauc）明显高于中性日。在情绪方面也存在显著差异，考试日的消极情绪更高，积极情绪更低，但皮质醇测量值和自我报告的情绪之间的相关性较低，且无统计学意义。还发现皮质醇积分（CARauc）与考试成绩之间存在负相关。与中性日相比，预期考试压力导致女性研究参与者的 CAR 显著增加，但仅在觉醒期的皮质醇积分（CARauc）的情况下。这一测量值与考试成绩之间的负相关可以通过将 CARauc 归因于对预期考试的负面预期来解释。
