Loading...
The social dimension of stress reactivity: Acute stress increases prosocial behavior in humans
von Dawans, Bernadette Fischbacher, Urs Kirschbaum, Clemens Fehr, Ernst Heinrichs, Markus
von Dawans, Bernadette
Fischbacher, Urs
Kirschbaum, Clemens
Fehr, Ernst
Heinrichs, Markus
Abstract
Psychosocial stress precipitates a wide spectrum of diseases with major public-health significance. The fight-or-flight response is generally regarded as the prototypic human stress response, both physiologically and behaviorally. Given that having positive social interactions before being exposed to acute stress plays a preeminent role in helping individuals control their stress response, engaging in prosocial behavior in response to stress (tend-and-befriend) might also be a protective pattern. Little is known, however, about the immediate social responses following stress in humans. Here we show that participants who experienced acute social stress, induced by a standardized laboratory stressor, engaged in substantially more prosocial behavior (trust, trustworthiness, and sharing) compared with participants in a control condition, who did not experience socioevaluative threat. These effects were highly specific: Stress did not affect the readiness to exhibit antisocial behavior or to bear nonsocial risks. These results show that stress triggers social approach behavior, which operates as a potent stress-buffering strategy in humans, thereby providing evidence for the tend-and-befriend hypothesis.
Keywords
social stress, psychological stress, social interaction, social decision making, trust, cortisol
Date
2012
Type
Journal article
Journal
Psychological Science
Book
Volume
23
Issue
6
Page Range
651-660
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled