Finke Johannes B, Behrje Andreas, Heßlenberg Elena, Klucken Tim, Schächinger Hartmut
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany; Institute of Psychobiology, Department of Clinical Psychophysiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany.
Institute of Psychobiology, Department of Clinical Psychophysiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents, University of Trier, Trier, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022 May;139:105703. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105703. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
Social self-threat during physical stress, such as exposure to the cold pressor test and isometric handgrip test, has been shown to induce activation of the HPA axis, in addition to autonomic responses. However, previous research has suggested that dysfunctional post-event processing may play a major role in neuroendocrine reactivity at initial as well as subsequent social stress exposure. In the present study, we investigated how the interplay of context (i.e. performance feedback) with state (i.e., self-esteem) as well as trait-like factors (i.e., ruminative tendencies) affects stress responses to repeated, short bouts of physical activity. On two sessions, 1 week apart, 53 participants (27 women) performed an isometric handgrip task for 3 min, during which they were exposed to social-evaluative threat. In addition, participants received fake feedback on their performance immediately after the task, labeling it as either 'above' (positive) or 'below average' (negative). In addition to neuroendocrine (cortisol), cardiovascular (heart rate, blood pressure) and subjective stress reactivity, performance-related and social dimensions of state self-esteem were assessed before and after stress induction. Substantial increases in cardiovascular parameters were found on both days, regardless of feedback condition. However, positive feedback led to significantly diminished neuroendocrine responses on day 1, whereas baseline cortisol on session 2 was significantly higher in the negative feedback group. Conversely, social self-esteem decreased after stress induction on both days only for participants who had received negative feedback. Changes in self-esteem reported on day 1 were associated with increased baseline cortisol at the second session, while interindividual differences in self-reported (trait) rumination were associated with cortisol reactivity at session 1. Taken together, the results suggest that effects of social evaluation during short periods of physical stress rely on post-event processing and might be counteracted by positive appraisal directly after stress exposure. Post-hoc framing (in terms of success vs. failure) may predict subsequent stress-related hormonal effects better than task demands per se, which should be considered as a potential moderator in future acute stress research, but might also be relevant to many practical applications in fields ranging from sports/performance to health psychology.
在身体应激期间，如暴露于冷加压试验和等长握力试验中，社会自我威胁除了会引发自主反应外，还会导致下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴的激活。然而，先前的研究表明，事件后功能失调的处理过程可能在最初以及随后的社会应激暴露中对神经内分泌反应起主要作用。在本研究中，我们调查了情境（即表现反馈）与状态（即自尊）以及特质样因素（即反刍倾向）之间的相互作用如何影响对重复、短暂的体育活动应激反应。在相隔1周的两个时间段里，53名参与者（27名女性）进行了3分钟的等长握力任务，在此期间他们面临社会评价威胁。此外，参与者在任务结束后立即收到关于其表现的虚假反馈，将其标记为“高于”（积极）或“低于平均水平”（消极）。除了神经内分泌（皮质醇）、心血管（心率、血压）和主观应激反应外，在应激诱导前后还评估了状态自尊的与表现相关和社会维度。无论反馈条件如何，两天的心血管参数均有显著增加。然而，积极反馈导致第1天的神经内分泌反应显著减弱，而在第2次试验中，消极反馈组的基线皮质醇显著更高。相反，仅对于接受消极反馈的参与者，两天的应激诱导后社会自尊均下降。第1天报告的自尊变化与第2次试验中基线皮质醇增加有关，而自我报告的（特质）反刍的个体差异与第1次试验中的皮质醇反应性有关。综上所述，结果表明，在短时间身体应激期间社会评价的影响依赖于事件后处理，并且可能在应激暴露后通过积极评价来抵消。事后的框架设定（从成功与失败的角度）可能比任务本身的要求更能预测随后与应激相关的激素效应，这在未来的急性应激研究中应被视为一个潜在的调节因素，但在从体育/表现到健康心理学等许多实际应用领域中可能也具有相关性。
