The effects of threatened social evaluation of the physique on cortisol activity

Muscle Up: Male Athletes' and Non-Athletes' Psychobiological Responses to, and Recovery From, Body Image Social-Evaluative Threats

Negative body image often occurs as a result of social evaluation of the physique in men. Social self-preservation theory (SSPT) holds that social-evaluative threats (SETs) elicit consistent psychobiological responses (i.e., salivary cortisol and shame) to protect one's social-esteem, status, and standing. Actual body image SETs have resulted in psychobiological changes consistent with SSPT in men; however, responses in athletes have yet to be examined. These responses may differ as athletes tend to experience fewer body image concerns compared with non-athletes. The purpose of the current study was to examine psychobiological (i.e., body shame and salivary cortisol) responses to an acute laboratory body image SET in 49 male varsity athletes from non-aesthetic sports and 63 male non-athletes from a university community. Participants (age range 18-28 years) were randomized into a high or low body image SET condition, stratified by athlete status; measures of body shame and salivary cortisol were taken across the session (i.e., pre, post, 30-min post, 50-min post-intervention). There were no significant time-by-condition interactions, such that athletes and non-athletes had significant increases in salivary cortisol (F_3,321 = 3.34, p = .02), when controlling for baseline values, and state body shame (F_2.43,262.57 = 4.58, p = .007) following the high-threat condition only. Consistent with SSPT, body image SETs led to increased state body shame and salivary cortisol, although there were no differences in these responses between non-athletes and athletes.

Examining University Men's Psychobiological and Behavioral Response-Recovery Profile From a Social-Evaluative Body Image Threat

Negative body image, which often results from social-evaluative body image threats, is common in young men and related to many harmful outcomes. Using social self-preservation theory (SSPT), the present study investigated the psychobiological (i.e., shame and cortisol) and behavioral (e.g., submission) response-recovery profile to a social-evaluative body image threat in university men. Participants (N = 69; M_age = 20.80 years, SD = 1.84) were randomly assigned to a high-threat (n = 34) or low-threat condition (n = 35). Men in the high-threat condition reported greater post-threat body shame, had greater post-threat cortisol levels, and exhibited more shame-relevant behaviors than men in the low-threat condition. There were no significant differences between conditions for body shame or cortisol at the final post-threat time point (after resting for 30 min). These findings are consistent with SSPT and suggest that men respond to, and recover from, body image threats relatively efficiently.

Hippocampal connectivity in the aftermath of acute social stress

The hippocampus is a core brain region that responds to stress. Previous studies have found a dysconnectivity between hippocampus and other brain regions under acute and chronic stress. However, whether and how acute social stress influences the directed connectivity patterns from and to the hippocampus remains unclear. In this study, using a within-subject design and Granger causal analysis (GCA), we investigated the alterations of resting state effective connectivity from and to hippocampal subregions after an acute social stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test). Participants were engaged in stress and control conditions spaced approximately one month apart. Our findings showed that stress altered the information flows in the thalamus-hippocampus-insula/midbrain circuit. The changes in this circuit could also predict with high accuracy the stress and control conditions at the subject level. These hippocampus-related brain networks have been documented to be involved in emotional information processing and storage, as well as habitual responses. We speculate that alterations of the effective connectivity between these brain regions may be associated with the registering and encoding of threatening stimuli under stress. Our investigation of hippocampal functional connectivity at a subregional level may help elucidate the functional neurobiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders.

The effect of perceived appearance judgments on psychological and biological stress processes across adulthood

Social self-preservation theory posits that stress is experienced when an aspect of an individual's identity has the potential to be negatively evaluated. Appearance is a central part of identity; however, little research has examined whether perceived appearance judgements are a source of social-evaluative stress. In addition, stress may be an explanatory link in the association between appearance perceptions and depressive symptoms. This study examined whether perceived appearance judgements were associated with increased stress and greater depressive symptoms among adults. Study 1 examined the associations between self-reported appearance judgements and cortisol stress responses in response to a laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test) among 71 individuals aged 18-65. Study 2 assessed self-reported appearance judgements and depressive symptoms among 498 adults ages 18-65 via an online survey data collection. Appearance judgement was associated with a stronger cortisol response, higher self-reported stress, and greater depressive symptoms. Stress mediated all associations between appearance judgements and depressive symptoms and neither age nor gender moderated these associations. The findings suggest that appearance judgements contribute to psychological and biological stress processes and demonstrated that stress mediated the association between appearance judgements and depressive symptoms.

Men Respond Too: The Effects of a Social-Evaluative Body Image Threat on Shame and Cortisol in University Men

Framed within social self-preservation theory, the present study investigated men's psychobiological responses to social-evaluative body image threats. University men ( n = 66) were randomly assigned to either a high or low social-evaluative body image threat condition. Participants provided saliva samples (to assess cortisol) and completed measures of state body shame prior to and following their condition, during which anthropometric and strength measures were assessed. Baseline corrected values indicated men in the high social-evaluative body image threat condition had higher body shame and cortisol than men in the low social-evaluative body image threat condition. These findings suggest that social evaluation in the context of situations that threaten body image leads to potentially negative psychobiological responses in college men.

Body-part compatibility effects are modulated by the tendency for women to experience negative social comparative emotions and the body-type of the model

Although exposure to physique-salient media images of women’s bodies has been consistently linked with negative psychological consequences, little is known about the cognitive processes that lead to these negative effects. The present study employed a novel adaptation of a computerized response time (RT) task to (i) assess implicit cognitive processing when exposed to the body of another individual, and (ii) examine individual differences in social comparative emotions that may influence the cognitive processing of human bodies. Adult females with low (n = 44) or high (n = 23) tendencies for comparative emotions completed a task in which they executed responses to coloured targets presented on the hands or feet of images of ultra-thin, average-size, and above average-size female models. Although the colour of the target is the only relevant target feature, it is typically found that the to-be-ignored location of the target on the body of the model influences RTs such that RTs are shorter when the target is on a body-part that is compatible with the responding limb (e.g., hand response when target was on hand) than on a body-part that is incompatible with the responding limb (e.g., hand response when target was on foot). Findings from the present study revealed that the magnitude of the body-part compatibility effect (i.e., the index of the cognitive processing of the model) was modulated by tendencies for affective body-related comparisons. Specifically, women who were prone to experiencing social comparative emotions demonstrated stronger and more consistent body-part compatibility effects across models. Therefore, women with higher social comparison tendencies have heightened processing of bodies at a neurocognitive level and may be at higher risk of the negative outcomes linked with physique-salient media exposure.

Social Anxiety, Affect, Cortisol Response and Performance on a Speech Task

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety is characterized by increased emotional reactivity to social stimuli, but results of studies focusing on affective reactions of socially anxious subjects in the situation of social exposition are inconclusive, especially in the case of endocrinological measures of affect.

SAMPLING AND METHODS

This study was designed to examine individual differences in endocrinological and affective reactions to social exposure as well as in performance on a speech task in a group of students (n = 44) comprising subjects with either high or low levels of social anxiety. Measures of salivary cortisol and positive and negative affect were taken before and after an impromptu speech. Self-ratings and observer ratings of performance were also obtained.

RESULTS

Cortisol levels and negative affect increased in both groups after the speech task, and positive affect decreased; however, group × affect interactions were not significant. Assessments conducted after the speech task revealed that highly socially anxious participants had lower observer ratings of performance while cortisol increase and changes in self-reported affect were not related to performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Socially anxious individuals do not differ from nonanxious individuals in affective reactions to social exposition, but reveal worse performance at a speech task.

The impact of the amount of social evaluation on psychobiological responses to a body image threat

The present study examined the impact of amount of social-evaluative body image threat on psychobiological responses. Women (N=123) were randomized into an individual-threat, group-threat or no-threat condition. Participants completed a measure of state body shame and provided a sample of saliva (to assess cortisol) at baseline and following their condition. Both threat conditions had higher baseline-adjusted body shame following the threat compared to the no-threat condition; however, no difference on baseline-adjusted body shame between the threat conditions was found. The same pattern of results was found for cortisol - both threat conditions had higher baseline-adjusted response cortisol than the no-threat condition, with no significant differences between the threat groups. Findings suggest that the magnitude of psychobiological responses to a social-evaluative body image threat does not differ with the amount of social-evaluative threat (individual- versus group-threat). These findings provide insight into the context of body image threats of women.