Sex differences in the effects of acute stress on behavior in the ultimatum game

•We examine whether stress affects social behavior differently in men versus women.•Acute stress was induced using the TSST, social behavior was measured via the ultimatum game.•Female participants were less likely to reject offers under stress independent of offer fairness.•Female behavior suggests...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018-10, Vol.96, p.126-131
Main Authors: Youssef, Farid F., Bachew, Raecho, Bissessar, Satyavi, Crockett, Molly J., Faber, Nadira S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Choice Behavior - physiology
Costly punishment
Decision Making - physiology
Female
Games, Experimental
Gender differences
Humans
Hydrocortisone - analysis
Judgment and decision making
Male
Prosocial behaviour
Saliva - chemistry
Sex Factors
Social Behavior
Stress
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Ultimatum game
Young Adult
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Summary:•We examine whether stress affects social behavior differently in men versus women.•Acute stress was induced using the TSST, social behavior was measured via the ultimatum game.•Female participants were less likely to reject offers under stress independent of offer fairness.•Female behavior suggests increased cooperation under stress.•Male participants did not show differences in rejections rates depending on stress. Acute stress affects human decision making. It has been argued that there are systematic sex differences in behavioral responses to acute stress, with males showing a ‘fight or flight’ and females showing a ‘tend and befriend’ response. A ‘tend and befriend’ response would suggest that women become more cooperative under acute stress, while men do not. We investigated the effects of acute stress on social behavior. We induced stress via the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and then immediately after measured how participants reacted to offers made in the ultimatum game by a male proposer. We found that female participants were less likely to reject offers under stress (n = 25) vs. no stress (n = 37), p = 0.009, independent of how fair these offers were, cooperative behavior consistent with the ‘tend and befriend’ hypothesis. Male participants when stressed (n = 30) did not show differences in rejections rates compared to the control condition (n = 26), p = 0.41. Our results provide support for a qualitatively different behavioral response to acute stress among men and women.
ISSN:0306-4530
1873-3360
DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.06.012