Effects of Acute Stress on Social Behavior

The proposed project aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the effects of acute stress on social behavior and its underlying neural processes. Our research approach is guided by an overarching theory on social behavior which categorizes social interactions in three different classes based on their underlying cognitive-affective processes (i.e., social motivation, social cognition and social norm compliance). By assessments of how stress affects each of the different social cognitive and affective processes, we aim to provide a comprehensive framework on the effects of stress on social interactions. The research questions will be addressed using functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with experimental paradigms derived from model-based neuroeconomics and social-affective neuroscience. The novelty of the project lies in two aspects. First, by guiding our research based on the three different classes of social information-processing demands, we will be able to provide a comprehensive assessment of stress effects on social behavior. Furthermore, we will be able to pinpoint the processing level on which stress affects social behavior. The second innovative aspect of the proposed project lies in the combination of methods from model-based neuroeconomics with those of social- affective neuroscience. The overall goal of the project is to provide novel understanding of how humans respond to stress which in turn might enable the development of new strategies to reduce stress-related health and societal problems.

Social interactions are crucial for success and well-being in both our professional and personal lives. This project investigated the impact of acute stress, a common everyday occurrence, on social behaviour and social cognition. The project used a variety of methods from psychology and neuroscience to investigate this relationship. Firstly, the researchers used neuroimaging to see how brain activity changed under acute stress and how this influenced peoples motivation to help others and their ability to learn from social feedback. Acute stress reduced effortful prosocial behaviour and this was particularly the case for more selfish individuals. Moreover, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain that is sensitive to stress and involved in making effort-related decisions, showed reduced activation in more stressed participants when deciding whether to exert effort to help. Thus, this finding provided important insight into the potential neural mechanisms by which acute stress can change effortful prosocial behaviour. The project also conducted a meta-analysis which looked at 23 previous studies investigating the relationship between acute stress and prosocial behaviour. Contrary to previous work, this revealed that there was no consistent effect of acute stress on prosocial behaviour. Instead, the analysis revealed that the influence of acute stress on prosocial behaviour is likely to be dependent on contextual factors, such as the amount of effort invol ved in helping someone, and differences between individuals, such as ones predisposition to help. The project team also published several papers investigating the effects of the recent Covid- 19 pandemic on everyday stress and mood. Here, they used an appr oach called ecological momentary assessment which allows participants behaviour and psychological states, such as their current mood and stress levels, to be captured in real-time via a smartphone. Across a series of studies, the team investigated and demonstrated the importance of social interactions, particularly face-to-face interactions, for maintaining positive mood and reducing stress. These studies also revealed the importance of social interactions for maintaining energy levels and curtailing fatigue. In a follow-up lab study, they found that the effects of social isolation on energy levels and fatigue were similar to those of fasting. This suggests that there may be similarities between the psychobiological responses to a lack of food and to a la ck of social contact.