Social identification and contagious stress reactions

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019-04, Vol.102, p.58-62
• Main Authors: Erkens, Valerie A., Nater, Urs M., Hennig, Jürgen, Häusser, Jan A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Affective stress; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Contagious stress; Cortisol; Emotions - physiology; Female; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Male; Saliva - chemistry; Social Identification; Social identity; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.11.034

•We replicated Engert et al.’s (2014, PNEC) findings.•Observing another person in a stressful situation elicits cortisol stress contagion.•Additionally, it also elicits affective stress contagion.•Stress contagion was not moderated by social identity manipulation. Contagious stress describes the transmission of stress from a stressed person to an observer, which we examined at the neuroendocrine and the affective level. We tested whether a shared social identity moderates contagious stress. Ninety-four participants participated in groups of four. After inducing either a shared social or a personal identity, participants observed a confederate undergoing the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a standardized social-evaluative stressor. Salivary cortisol and affective stress were assessed multiple times before and after the observation of the TSST. We found a physiologically significant contagious stress reaction on a neuroendocrine level for 17% of all participants. Additionally, we found an increase in observers’ self-reported stress. Contrary to our expectations, the manipulation of social identity had no effect on contagious stress. Our variation of the TSST is a viable methodological strategy to increase standardization as well as experimental economy in studies examining contagious stress.