Social-Evaluative Threat, Cognitive Load, and the Cortisol and Cardiovascular Stress Response

The social self-preservation model contends that humans are motivated to preserve the social self, or to maintain social esteem, acceptance, status, and value (Dickerson et al., 2004; Dickerson& Kemeny, 2004). Prototypical threats to this central goal are social-evaluative threats, or conditions in which an important aspect of self-identity is or could be negatively judged by others (Dickerson& Kemeny, 2004). We propose that these social-evaluative situations elicit a coordinated psychobiological response, including increases in cortisol.

Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology - July 5, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Alex Woody, Emily D. Hooker, Peggy M. Zoccola, Sally S. Dickerson Source Type: research