Dept. of Psychology, 3009 Broadway, Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Oct;132:105323. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105323. Epub 2021 Jun 10.
Adrenocortical attunement-similarity in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity-has been well-documented in close relationships (e.g., between romantic partners, parents and children, and close friends). However, little is known about adrenocortical attunement during early relationship formation. In the current study, we examine dyadic adrenocortical attunement during a guided conversation in which two new acquaintances (N = 140 people, 70 dyads), who were university students or adults in the community, answered questions about themselves. Dyads were randomly assigned to answer questions designed to elicit dyad members to reveal a high or low amount of personal information (i.e., to self-disclose at high or low levels). We collected saliva samples (assayed for cortisol) before and after the conversation, and we coded behavioral self-disclosure-the extent to which people revealed their thoughts, feelings, and facts about themselves-during the conversation. As expected, dyads who were assigned to ask and answer high self-disclosure questions disclosed more than those assigned to ask and answer low self-disclosure questions. In addition, greater self-disclosure during the conversation was associated with greater similarity in cortisol change-that is, dyad members who revealed more about themselves experienced more similar cortisol changes in response to their conversation. This work reveals one social process through which adrenocortical attunement occurs during early relationship formation, and, in doing so, describes how our physiological functioning is linked to those around us-even people we have just met.
在亲密关系中（例如，恋人、父母与子女、亲密朋友之间），下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴活性的肾上腺皮质同步性已经得到了充分的证实。然而，人们对早期关系形成过程中的肾上腺皮质同步性知之甚少。在目前的研究中，我们在一项指导性对话中检查了对偶的肾上腺皮质同步性，在这项对话中，两个新相识的人（N=140 人，70 对），他们是大学生或社区中的成年人，回答了关于自己的问题。对偶被随机分配回答旨在促使对偶成员揭示大量或少量个人信息的问题（即，以高或低的水平自我表露）。我们在对话前后收集了唾液样本（检测皮质醇），并对对话过程中的行为自我表露进行了编码——即人们揭示自己的思想、感受和事实的程度。正如预期的那样，被分配询问和回答高自我表露问题的对偶比被分配询问和回答低自我表露问题的对偶透露的信息更多。此外，对话中更大的自我表露与皮质醇变化的更大相似性相关，即，更多地揭示自己的对偶成员在回应对话时经历了更相似的皮质醇变化。这项工作揭示了早期关系形成过程中肾上腺皮质同步性发生的一个社会过程，并描述了我们的生理功能如何与周围的人（即使是我们刚刚认识的人）联系在一起。
