A Virtual Reality Version of the Trier Social Stress Test: A Pilot Study

Wallergård, Mattias; Jönsson, Peter; Johansson, Gerd; Karlson, Björn

doi:10.1162/pres_a_00052

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…This increase is slightly lower than the ones reported by Kirschbaum et al (1993) and Kotlyar et al (2008) for the original TSST (24 -34% and 30% respectively). In their studies using a CAVE, Jönsson et al (2010) reported an increase of 17% during verbal contribution and an increase of 22% during the arithmetic task, while Wallergaard et al (2011) could only find an increase of 12% during the speech task and 9% during the arithmetic task. Using a HMD, Shiban et al (2016) found an increase of 12% in the speech and 10% in the arithmetic task.…”

Section: Peripher-physiological Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Both, mean cortisol habituation and dissociated stress habituation patterns between the SAM and the HPA response systems to repeated TSST provocations are well-known findings (Schommer et al, 2003;Wüst et al, 2005). Wallergaard et al (2011) also used a CAVE-system to examine the VR-TSST (Wallergaard et al, 2011). Heart rates showed an average increase that was comparable to the conventional TSST (24-34%, (Kirschbaum et al, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender Differences in Stress Responses during a Virtual Reality Trier Social Stress Test

Santl

Shiban

Plab

et al. 2019

IJVR

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The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is commonly used to induce stress in laboratories by instructing participants to deliver a speech and to solve arithmetic tasks in front of a committee. Its implementation in virtual reality (VR) enables an investigation of stress responses under highly standardized controllable conditions. The aim of this study was to compare stress responses among men and women in a VR version of the TSST (VR-TSST). To this end, 16 women taking oral contraceptives and 16 men underwent the VR-TSST in a modified version including a competitor. Stress ratings, heart rate, electrodermal reactivity, and salivary cortisol responses were analyzed. The VR-TSST induced endocrine, peripher-physiological and self-reported stress responses, indicated by a significant increase in heart rate, electrodermal activity and stress ratings as well as a small but significant cortisol response. Significant gender differences were found only for stress ratings. In conclusion, these findings confirm earlier results that VR is suitable to induce social stress both in males and females.

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Section: Peripher-physiological Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Differences in Stress Responses during a Virtual Reality Trier Social Stress Test

Santl

Shiban

Plab

et al. 2019

IJVR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For instance, Zanbaka, Ulinski, Goolkasian, and Hodges (2004) showed in a social facilitation/inhibition experiment that the presence of a virtual human-affected participants' performance in the same way as the presence of a real human. The TSST has been programmed in virtual settings before, and the virtual version evoked physiological responses (heart rate and cortisol) that were comparable with the responses found in real-life versions of the TSST (Jönsson, et al, 2010;Wallergård, Jönsson, Österberg, Johansson, & Karlson, 2011). IVET is also used as an effective treatment to remedy fear of public speaking (e.g., North, North, and Coble (1998) and Wallach, Safir, and Bar-Zvi (2009)).…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 95%

Power increases performance in a social evaluation situation as a result of decreased stress responses

Schmid

Mast

2013

Euro J Social Psych

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We tested whether power reduces responses related to social stress and thus increases performance evaluation in social evaluation situations. We hypothesized and found that thinking about having power reduced fear of negative evaluation and physiological arousal during a self-presentation task (Studies 1 and 2). In Study 2, we also showed that simply thinking about having power made individuals perform better in a social evaluation situation. Our results confirmed our hypotheses that the mechanism explaining this power-performance link was that high power participants felt less fear of negative evaluation. The reduced fear of negative evaluation generated fewer signs of behavioral nervousness, which caused their performance to be evaluated more positively (serial mediation). Simply thinking of having power can therefore have important positive consequences for a person in an evaluation situation in terms of how he or she feels and how he or she is evaluated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Social evaluation situations are characterized by one or several evaluators observing and assessing the performance of a person in a face-to-face encounter. They are common in work contexts, such as job interviews, meetings, or when giving public speeches or presentations. Social evaluation situations usually provoke stress-related responses in the person being assessed, such as fear of negative evaluation, physiological stress responses (Al 'Absi, et al., 1997;Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993), and nervous behavior (Karam & Ragsdale, 1994). In this article, we posit that being reminded of one's own power, the latter defined as the extent to which a person feels or is able to influence or control other people (Halevy, Chou, & Galinsky, 2011;Schmid Mast, 2002), reduces stress-related responses in social evaluation situations. We therefore claim that power acts as a stress buffer in social evaluation situations in that it reduces the fear of negative evaluation, physiological arousal, and nonverbal signs of nervousness.That power reduces fear of negative evaluation, defined as ". . .the degree to which people experience apprehension at the prospect of being evaluated negatively" (Leary, 1983, p. 371), is theoretically founded in the approach/inhibition theory of power (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003). According to this theory, high power people pay less attention to threats. A social evaluation situation creates such a potential threat by inducing worries about making an unfavorable impression (i.e., fear of negative evaluation). To the extent that high power people are prone to ignore threats, they should be relatively immune towards the fear of negative evaluation.Moreover, according to the approach/inhibition theory (Keltner, et al., 2003), high power is associated with relatively more positive mood and less negative emotions. Specifically, the emotions of fear and embarrassment have been documented to be negatively related to power (Anderson, Langner, & Keltner, 2001), emotions that are genuine to...

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“…Use of virtual reality is gathering momentum in adult stress testing and is suggested as an effective alternative (Montero-Lopez et al, 2015;Wallergard et al, 2011). A pre-recorded audience was applied in the Leiden public speaking task with a panel of adolescents in a classroom setting, eliciting a moderate stress response in adolescents aged 12-15 years (Westenberg et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Panel manipulation in social stress testing: The Bath Experimental Stress Test for Children (BEST-C)

Cheetham

Turner‐Cobb

2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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SummaryBackground: Whilst acute stress paradigms in adults make use of adult panel members, similar paradigms modified for child participants have not manipulated the panel.Most work has utilised an audience of adult confederates, regardless of the age of the population being tested. The aim of this study was to trial a social stress test for children that provided a meaningful environment using age-matched child peers as panel actors.Methods: Thirty-three participants (7-11 years) underwent the Bath Experimental Stress Test for Children (BEST-C). Based on the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), it comprises a shortened six-minute public speaking task and four-minute maths challenge. It differs from previous stress tests by using age-matched children on the panel, pre-recorded and presented as a live feed, and includes an expanded manipulation check of subjective experience. Salivary cortisol was assessed at four time points, pre-post stress testing; life events, daily hassles and coping strategies were measured through questionnaires. A simple numerical coding scheme was applied to post-test interview data. Results:The BEST-C generated a typical stress and adaptation response in salivary cortisol (p=.032). Age and gender differences were observed during recovery. Cortisol responses mapped directly onto three distinct subjective response patterns: i) expected response and recovery; ii) expected response, no recovery; iii) no response. Conclusions:The BEST-C, utilising child confederates of participant target age is a meaningful social stress test for children. This is the first social stress test developed specifically for children that manipulates panel characteristics by using child confederates and a pre-recorded sham panel. Greater cortisol responses to the test were also found to match subjective verbal accounts of the experience. It offers a meaningful acute stress paradigm with potential applications to other child and adolescent age groups. Furthermore, it leads the way in the use of panel manipulation in social stress testing.

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A Virtual Reality Version of the Trier Social Stress Test: A Pilot Study

Cited by 33 publications

References 43 publications

Gender Differences in Stress Responses during a Virtual Reality Trier Social Stress Test

Gender Differences in Stress Responses during a Virtual Reality Trier Social Stress Test

Power increases performance in a social evaluation situation as a result of decreased stress responses

Panel manipulation in social stress testing: The Bath Experimental Stress Test for Children (BEST-C)

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