Assessing Performance on an Evaluated Speaking Task

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Villada ◽  
Vanesa Hidalgo ◽  
Mercedes Almela ◽  
Alicia Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Psychophysiological Reactivity ◽  
Evaluation Anxiety ◽  
Speaking Task

Abstract. Coping with social stress involves cognitive perceptions and the activation of several physiological mechanisms. Our main purpose was to examine how psychological factors such as cognitive appraisal, and particularly self-efficacy, may affect psychophysiological reactivity to social stress and young people’s performance on an evaluated speaking task. Thirty-five university students (18 men and 17 women) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a control condition in a counterbalanced order. Self-efficacy, several dimensions of trait anxiety related to social evaluation, and changes in state anxiety were assessed. Additionally, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) were analyzed by means of R-R and r-MSSD parameters, respectively. The results indicate that a positive self-assessment of their own ability to overcome a social threat was related to the predominance of vagal tone and better performance. However, cardiac reactivity was not related to the quality of the performance displayed. In addition, some dimensions of trait anxiety, such as cognitive anxiety and test evaluation anxiety, were negatively associated with self-efficacy and performance. These findings emphasize the relevance of self-efficacy, a key component of cognitive appraisal, in explaining psychophysiological reactivity to social stress. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of some personality characteristics, such as social evaluation anxiety, in explaining performance in specifically related stressful situations, regardless of autonomic activation.

scholarly journals A machine learning approach to identifying objective biomarkers of anxiety and stress

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Ramakrishnan ◽  
Adam Pardes ◽  
William Lynch ◽  
Christopher Molaro ◽  
Michael Louis Platt
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
High Trait ◽  
High Trait Anxiety

AbstractAnxiety and stress-related disorders are highly prevalent and debilitating conditions that impose an enormous burden on society. Sensitive measurements that can enable early diagnosis could mitigate suffering and potentially prevent onset of these conditions. Self-reports, however, are intrusive and vulnerable to biases that can conceal the true internal state. Physiological responses, on the other hand, manifest spontaneously and can be monitored continuously, providing potential objective biomarkers for anxiety and stress. Recent studies have shown that algorithms trained on physiological measurements can predict stress states with high accuracy. Whether these predictive algorithms generalize to untested situations and participants, however, remains unclear. Further, whether biomarkers of momentary stress indicate trait anxiety – a vulnerability foreshadowing development of anxiety and mood disorders – remains unknown. To address these gaps, we monitored skin conductance, heart rate, heart rate variability and EEG in 39 participants experiencing physical and social stress and compared these measures to non-stressful periods of talking, rest, and playing a simple video game. Self-report measures were obtained periodically throughout the experiment. A support vector machine trained on physiological measurements identified stress conditions with ~96% accuracy. A decision tree that optimally combined physiological and self-report measures identified individuals with high trait anxiety with ~84% accuracy. Individuals with high trait anxiety also displayed high baseline state anxiety but a muted physiological response to acute stressors. Overall, these results demonstrate the potential for using machine learning tools to identify objective biomarkers useful for diagnosing and monitoring mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

scholarly journals Does Psychosocial Stress Impact Cognitive Reappraisal? Behavioral and Neural Evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1803-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maheen Shermohammed ◽  
Pranjal H. Mehta ◽  
Joan Zhang ◽  
Cassandra M. Brandes ◽  
Luke J. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress Group

Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is regarded as an effective emotion regulation strategy. Acute stress, however, is believed to impair the functioning of prefrontal-based neural systems, which could result in lessened effectiveness of CR under stress. This study tested the behavioral and neurobiological impact of acute stress on CR. While undergoing fMRI, adult participants ( n = 54) passively viewed or used CR to regulate their response to negative and neutral pictures and provided ratings of their negative affect in response to each picture. Half of the participants experienced an fMRI-adapted acute psychosocial stress manipulation similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, and a control group received parallel manipulations without the stressful components. Relative to the control group, the stress group exhibited heightened stress as indexed by self-report, heart rate, and salivary cortisol throughout the scan. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that reappraisal success was equivalent in the control and stress groups, as was electrodermal response to the pictures. Heart rate deceleration, a physiological response typically evoked by aversive pictures, was blunted in response to negative pictures and heightened in response to neutral pictures in the stress group. In the brain, we found weak evidence of stress-induced increases of reappraisal-related activity in parts of the PFC and left amygdala, but these relationships were statistically fragile. Together, these findings suggest that both the self-reported and neural effects of CR may be robust to at least moderate levels of stress, informing theoretical models of stress effects on cognition and emotion.

Clinical experimental stress studies: methods and assessment

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 555-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjana Bali ◽  
Amteshwar Singh Jaggi
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Cold Pressor Test ◽  
The Body ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Induce Stress ◽  
Stress Assessment

AbstractStress is a state of threatened homeostasis during which a variety of adaptive processes are activated to produce physiological and behavioral changes. Stress induction methods are pivotal for understanding these physiological or pathophysiological changes in the body in response to stress. Furthermore, these methods are also important for the development of novel pharmacological agents for stress management. The well-described methods to induce stress in humans include the cold pressor test, Trier Social Stress Test, Montreal Imaging Stress Task, Maastricht Acute Stress Test, CO2 challenge test, Stroop test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, noise stress, and Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test. Stress assessment in humans is done by measuring biochemical markers such as cortisol, cortisol awakening response, dexamethasone suppression test, salivary α-amylase, plasma/urinary norepinephrine, norepinephrine spillover rate, and interleukins. Physiological and behavioral changes such as galvanic skin response, heart rate variability, pupil size, and muscle and/or skin sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography) and cardiovascular parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and self-reported anxiety are also monitored to assess stress response. This present review describes these commonly employed methods to induce stress in humans along with stress assessment methods.

Effects of d-amphetamine upon psychosocial stress responses

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 608-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Childs ◽  
Anya K Bershad ◽  
Harriet de Wit
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Cognitive Appraisals ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Double Blind

Psychostimulant drugs alter the salience of stimuli in both laboratory animals and humans. In animals, stimulants increase rates of responding to conditioned incentive stimuli, and in humans, amphetamine increases positive ratings of emotional images. However, the effects of stimulants on real-life emotional events have not been studied in humans. In this study, we examined the effect of d-amphetamine on responses to acute psychosocial stress using a public speaking task. Healthy volunteers ( N=56) participated in two experimental sessions, one with a psychosocial stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test) and one with a non-stressful control task. They were randomly assigned to receive d-amphetamine (5 mg n=18, 10 mg n=20) or placebo ( n=18) on both sessions under double blind conditions. Salivary cortisol, subjective mood, and vital signs were measured at regular intervals during the session. Subjects also provided cognitive appraisals of the tasks before and after their performances. Amphetamine produced its expected mood and physiological effects, and the Trier Social Stress Test produced its expected effects on cortisol and mood. Although neither dose of amphetamine altered cardiovascular or hormonal responses to stress, amphetamine (10 mg) increased participants’ pre-task appraisals of how challenging the task would be, and it increased post-task ratings of self-efficacy. Paradoxically, it also increased ratings of how stressful the task was, and prolonged aversive emotional responses. These findings suggest that amphetamine differentially affects stress response components: it may increase participants’ appraisals of self-efficacy without dampening the direct emotional or physiological responses to the stress.

scholarly journals Sex Differences in Stress Reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Liu ◽  
Wenjuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Group

Abstract Background: The aim of the present study is to investigate the sex differences in stress reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in a virtual reality(TSST-VR). Methods: Healthy young male (n = 30) and female (n = 30) undergraduates were randomly assigned to a psychosocial stress protocol (TSST) condition or to a non-stressful control condition (Placebo-TSST) under VR. Electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured throughout the study. The subjective scales of stress and emotion were also conducted. Results: The results showed that after VR, the stress group reported higher stress perceptions than the non-stress group. Compared with females, the males stronger EDA and higher HRV before the VR, and lower HR during VR as well as higher HRV after VR. The correlation between subjective and objective reactivity demonstrated that HRV during VR was negatively correlated to depression and negative affect. The HRV after VR was negatively correlated to the positive coping but was positively correlated to the depression. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the TSST-VR could be used as an available tool for testing gender differences to social stress induction in experimental settings. Compared with females, males were more sensitive to stress.

scholarly journals Trier Social Stress Test Elevates Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Anxiety, But a Singing Test or Unsolvable Anagrams Only Elevates Heart Rate, among Healthy Young Adults

Psych ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-183
Author(s):  
Isabelle K. Sequeira ◽  
Addie S. Longmire ◽  
Naomi J. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Psychological Stressors ◽  
Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Elevated Heart Rate

The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a psychosocial stressor that effectively stimulates the stress response but is labor and time intensive. Although other psychological stressors are often used experimentally, none are known to comparably elevate stress. Two stressors that may potentially elevate stress are a singing task (ST) and unsolvable anagrams, but there are not enough data to support their effectiveness. In the current experiment, 53 undergraduate males and females (mean age = 21.9 years) were brought into the laboratory, and baseline blood pressure, heart rate, self-rated anxiety, and salivary cortisol were recorded. Then, participants were randomly assigned to one of three stress conditions: TSST (n = 24), ST (n = 14), or an unsolvable anagram task (n = 15). Stress measures were taken again after the stressor and during recovery. The TSST significantly elevated systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and self-rated anxiety from pre-stress levels, replicating its stress-inducing properties. However, the ST and unsolvable anagrams only elevated heart rate, indicating that these methods are not as able to stimulate physiological or psychological stress. Overall, results indicate that out of these three laboratory stressors, the TSST clearly engages the stress response over the ST or unsolvable anagrams.

Paranoid Delusions as an Adaptive Response to Social Evaluative Stress?

2018 ◽  
Vol 226 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Clamor ◽  
Katarina Krkovic
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Heart Rate Variability ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Negative Reinforcement ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Physiological Homeostasis ◽  
Abstract Learning

Abstract. Learning mechanisms may serve as a framework for understanding the formation of paranoia. Specifically, if paranoid thoughts after social stressors produce a short-term benefit for coping (e.g., downregulating arousal), the encountered negative reinforcement could lead to their excessive application and subsequently to long-term maladaptive convictions. The Trier Social Stress Test was utilized in healthy participants to examine this putative benefit. Participants rated paranoia at baseline and after the stressor. Subjective stress levels, negative affect, heart rate, and heart rate variability were assessed in the following rest phase (N = 59). Semipartial correlations showed that participants who responded with larger increases in paranoia were characterized by a lower heart rate in the subsequent rest phase. No associations were found with heart rate variability or psychological measures. Thus, paranoid thinking in healthy individuals could be an adaptive means for reestablishing some aspects of physiological homeostasis after a social stressor but further research is needed.

The “Pet Effect”

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 425-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangeline A. Wheeler ◽  
Margaret E. Faulkner
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Different Levels

The “pet effect,” whereby interaction with a companion animal reduces the physiological indices of stress, varies with respect to fear of animals, companion animal guardianship, type of companion animal, or types of stress. In this study, a non-clinical sample of 223 undergraduates underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (tsst) in order to investigate how interaction with a companion animal affected stress levels for people with different levels of trait anxiety, a variable not yet investigated in this paradigm. An index of trait anxiety was taken along with repeated measures of state anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate. Overall results indicated that interaction with a companion dog reduced stress for all participants, with the effect being more pronounced for those high in trait anxiety.

Separation, self‐disclosure, and social evaluation anxiety as facets of trait social anxiety

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman S. Endler ◽  
Gordon L. Flett ◽  
Sophia D. Macrodimitris ◽  
Kimberly M. Corace ◽  
Nancy L. Kocovski
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Multifaceted Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Evaluation Anxiety

In the current article, we propose an expansion of the trait anxiety concept to include interpersonal or social facets of trait anxiety involving separation from significant others and disclosing aspects of the self to others, as a supplement to the existing focus on social evaluation anxiety. Participants in three studies completed a modified version of the Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales that included a measure of trait social evaluation anxiety, as well as new measures of trait separation anxiety and trait self‐disclosure anxiety (i.e., three measures of trait social anxiety). Results showed that the social evaluation, separation, and self‐disclosure trait anxiety scales have strong psychometric properties and that they represent distinct but related components of trait anxiety. With respect to validity, the facets of trait social anxiety were predictive of related variables including self‐concealment, anxiety sensitivity, and trait worry. The theoretical and practical implications of a multifaceted approach to trait social anxiety are discussed in terms of an expanded multidimensional interaction model of anxiety. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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