Cortisol and behavioral reaction of low and high sensation seekers differ in responding to a sport-specific stressor

Frenkel, Marie Ottilie; Heck, Robin-Bastian; Plessner, Henning

doi:10.1080/10615806.2018.1498277

Cited by 24 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…As a coping-related personality trait, sensation seeking did not predict shooting performance nor stress responses in the LS and HS scenario. This finding does not support hypothesis 4 and contradicts a body of research suggesting stress-buffering effects of sensation seeking (Couture et al, 2008; Tschiesner, 2012; Frenkel et al, 2018; Frenkel et al, unpublished). Therefore, further investigations into the role of sensation seeking are necessary to allow deeper conclusions.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 90%

“…Possibly, variation in performance under stress can be explained by individual differences in task-relevant personality traits that become activated depending on the presence of trait-relevant situational cues (Tett and Gutermann, 2000). In case of extreme stress situations, literature has shown that self-control (Englert and Bertrams, 2015; Landman et al, 2016) and sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1994; Frenkel et al, 2018; Frenkel et al, unpublished) affect psychophysiological stress responses and performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the high risk to the physical integrity in police work, sensation seeking, defined as “seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal and financial risks for the sake of such experience” (Zuckerman, 1994, p. 27) might be a relevant personality trait for police performance under stress. According to the psychobiological model (Zuckerman, 1994, 1996), individuals differ in their reaction to novel and intense stimulation: Low sensation seekers (LSS) are overwhelmed by intense stimulations, resulting in attenuated responses and the experience of aversive reactions, such as anxiety (Frenkel et al, 2018). In contrast, high sensation seekers (HSS) experience intense stimulations as pleasant and rewarding, which increases central nervous activity, allowing them to cope efficiently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, high sensation seekers (HSS) experience intense stimulations as pleasant and rewarding, which increases central nervous activity, allowing them to cope efficiently. HSS used more stress-reducing coping strategies (Tschiesner, 2012) and showed attenuated cortisol responses to stress (Couture et al, 2008; Frenkel et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Coping-Related Traits and Psychophysiological Stress Responses on Police Recruits’ Shooting Behavior in Reality-Based Scenarios

et al. 2019

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Police officers are often required to perform under high-stress circumstances, in which optimal task performance is crucial for their and the bystanders’ physical integrity. However, stress responses, particularly anxiety and increased cortisol levels, shift attention from goal-directed to stimulus-driven control, leaving police officers with poor shooting performance under stress. Cardiac vagal activity and coping-related traits (i.e., self-control, sensation seeking) might help individuals to maintain performance under stress. So far, only few studies have integrated coping-related traits, psychophysiological stress markers and occupationally meaningful measures of behavior to investigate police officers’ work performance under stress. Therefore, the present study investigated 19 police recruits ( M age = 22.84, SD = 3.30) undergoing a reality-based shooting scenario in two experimental conditions in a within-design: low stress (LS) against a non-threatening mannequin, and high stress (HS), involving physical threat by an opponent. Psychological (i.e., anxiety, mental effort) and physiological stress responses (i.e., salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, cardiac vagal activity) as well as shooting accuracy were repeatedly assessed. It was hypothesized that under stress, police recruits would demonstrate elevated psychophysiological stress responses and impaired shooting performance. Elevated psychophysiological stress responses would negatively influence shooting performance, whereas self-control, sensation seeking and cardiac vagal activity would positively influence shooting performance. While recruits reported significantly higher anxiety and mental effort in the HS scenario, both scenarios elicited comparable physiological responses. Overall, shooting accuracy was low and did not significantly decrease in the HS scenario. Shooting performance was predicted by self-control in the LS scenario and by post-task cardiac vagal activity in the HS scenario. While increased anxiety hints at a successful stress manipulation, physiological responses suggest similar stress levels for both scenarios, diminishing potential behavioral differences between the scenarios. Performance efficiency decreased under stress, as indicated by increasing mental effort. Findings on self-control suggest that suppressing negative stress responses might lead to impaired goal-directed attention, resulting in performance decrements. For police research and training, high-realism scenarios afford an opportunity to investigate and experience psychophysiological stress responses.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Coping-Related Traits and Psychophysiological Stress Responses on Police Recruits’ Shooting Behavior in Reality-Based Scenarios

et al. 2019

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“…In 1978, Williams et al suggested that rock climbing bring forth an anxiety type of psychological stress than a physical one. Nowadays, this psychophysiology perspective can be analyzed by established indicators of emotional state supported by physiological stress parameters or by personality characteristics . In the last years, the literature relates rock climbing to physiological, anthropometric, and sports‐related injuries and suggests that psychological variables, such as problem‐solving, memory recall, and anxiety, may be crucial to the success of climbing .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived stress and salivary cortisol on rock climbing

et al. 2019

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Rock climbing is a recreational activity that has been steadily growing in popularity over the years. The literature suggests that performers considered lead climbing was more stressful than other styles, but only few authors evaluated physical and mental stress was inherently associated with rock climbing. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived stress and salivary cortisol release in rock climbers during two specific lead conditions: on‐sight lead climb (OC) and flash lead climb (FC) in outdoors routes. Five intermediate male climbers (27.40 ± 1.30 years) volunteered to attend anthropometric and body composition testing sessions. Psychological stress was measured by perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ), and salivary cortisol was collected at five times in rest (RD) and climbing days, before and after the protocols. PSQ score was 0.21 ± 0.04 and they exhibited rhythmicity in daily cortisol production, which is most evidenced on RD with all values statistically different from upon awakening. No differences were observed when the days were compared by time point, total daily amount produced (AUC), or before and after the protocol. In conclusion, findings suggest that intermediate climbers appear to produce similar psychological or physiological responses during both climb style, but only on‐sight exhibited an alteration in daily cortisol production.

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Hypotalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axes and Their Relationship with Stress, Mood, Personality, and Neurocognitive Functioning

Robayo

2023

Logic, Argumentation &Amp; Reasoning

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Cortisol and behavioral reaction of low and high sensation seekers differ in responding to a sport-specific stressor

Cited by 24 publications

References 37 publications

Effects of Coping-Related Traits and Psychophysiological Stress Responses on Police Recruits’ Shooting Behavior in Reality-Based Scenarios

Effects of Coping-Related Traits and Psychophysiological Stress Responses on Police Recruits’ Shooting Behavior in Reality-Based Scenarios

Perceived stress and salivary cortisol on rock climbing

Hypotalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axes and Their Relationship with Stress, Mood, Personality, and Neurocognitive Functioning

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