Lecture 12 Reading Flashcards
Men vs women cortisol
• The overall picture seems to indicate that adult men respond to psychological stress with greater increases in cortisol compared to women.
Health issues and stress men
• It can be hypothesized that on one hand the greater stress reactivity observed in men might be causally associated with an elevated risk for diseases associated with high levels of cortisol such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes and may help explain the higher prevalence for these diseases in males.
Health issues and stress women
On the other hand, the lower cortisol response observed in women may be related to a hyporeactivity of the HPA axis, which is associated with an increased risk for autoimmune diseases, a condition much more prevalent in women.
Mental health and stress women
Higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders in women might reflect hyperactive stress responses in interpersonal settings in females.
Sexually dimorphic brains
Sex differences in the structure of limbic regions of the brain and the cognitive processing of a stressor as well as differences in circulating sex steroids and CBG levels may be responsible for the described sexually dimorphic HPA axis stress response
Men and women when doing TSST in front of opposit sex ppl
Men and women were exposed to a modified version of the TSST
They gave a speech in front of a panel of judges composed of male or female panelists
Both men and women only showed an increase in cortisol levels when exposed to panelists of the opposite sex
-The effect for women only occurred for those in the follicular phase
This finding showed that the induction of a psychosocial stress response does not strictly rely on direct social evaluation, but also depends on the sex xomposition of the panel
What is induced by the TSST
Social threat is typically induced by the presence of other humans who seem to evaluate the subject’s performance to a difficult task
TSST and luteal phase
Multiple studies have shown that men and women in the luteal phase produce a higher stress response compared to women in the follicular phase during the TSST
Non TSST stressor sex difference
Are their sex differences in HPA activity with exercise?
Stress response differences are not observed when the HPA axis is activated through other stressors such as physical exercise or pharmacological challenges
Panel visible/not Male and female stress response
Women show a reduced stress response on the TSST when panelists are behind a one-way mirror but men do not
-These results suggest that the degree of social evaluation present differentially affect men’s and women’s stress response
In general, social psych studies suggest that opposite sex interactions are linked to increased anxiety and discomfort in both men and women
Opposite sex effects, who was worse
Men and women in the follicular phase presented a cortisol increase only when confronted with an evaluative committee composed of panelist of the opposite sex If same sex, do not care
Proposed mechanism for cross-sex stress in follicular phase women
Previous studies have generally shown that women in the luteal phase tend to have higher stress reactivity
Possible explanation for finding: women in the follicular phase may have heightened sensitivity to men or masculine stimuli
If you repeat the trial, what happens (repeat a lot)
- Results of study suggest that differences in the neuroendocrine stress response to an opposite sex panel is not associated with a heightened perception of threat, or induction of negative mood
- Repeated measures of subjective stress revealed a trend; men and women in the follicular phase exposed to a panel of same sex members reported higher levels of subjective stress following the TSST, combined with non-significant increases in cortisol
- Suggests that lower levels of perceived stress were associated with a larger neuroendocrine response
- Result seems counterintuitive but is in line with other findings: Roney and colleagues looking at the effects of male to female social interaction on positive mood and cortisol found a positive relation.
These results suggest that in a non-stressful context, men and women – when exposed to characteristics of the opposite sex – produce an activation of the HPA
Tend and befriend basics (Abstract)
Human stress response system has been characterized as “fight or flight”
Propose that behaviorally, females’ responses are more marked by a pattern of “tend and befriend”
Tending: involves nurturant activities designed to protect the self and offspring that promote safety and reduce distress
Befriending: the creation and maintenance of social networks that may aid in the tending process
Biobehavioral mechanism that underlies this tend and befriend pattern appears to draw on the attachment-caregiving system
Neurocrine evidence from animal and human studies suggest that oxytocin along with female reproductive hormones and endogenous opioid peptide mechanisms may be at its core
3 patterns of female stress responses
Propose that female’s responses to stress are characterized by patterns that involve
- Caring for offspring under stressful circumstances ○ Joining social groups to reduce variability
- Contributing to the development of social groupings
Especially those involving female networks, for the exchange of resources and responsibilities
