Autonomic and Behavioral Reactivity to an Acute Laboratory Stressor

<p>Stress has been widely shown to directly influence people’s emotional and behavioral processing as well as their underlying biological systems. This project examined physiological and behavioral responses as indicators of stress and coping in the context of a psychosocial stressor in a controlled laboratory setting. We examined the association between indicators of behavioral coping and underlying physiological reactivity within participants while experiencing stress. Participants included 68 emerging adults. Physiological measures include autonomic biomarkers (e.g., heart-rate, skin conductance) at rest and during the stressor while behavioral indicators that were coded include acute verbal and non-verbal actions exhibited by participants during the stressor. Results supported the efficacy of a modified social stressor at eliciting stress responding in participants. In addition, behavioral coping was found to be associated with autonomic responding to the stressor. Exploring these associations has important implications for understanding the interaction between biological and behavioral responding to stress.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Peres, Jeremy C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Elizabeth Shirtcliff, Ph.D.
• Robert Laird, Ph.D.
• Gerald J. LaHoste, Ph.D.

• stress
• acute stressor
• autonomic
• behavior
• coping
• TSST
• Behavioral Neurobiology
• Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
• Biological Psychology
• Psychological Phenomena and Processes

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1562

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2618