The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

Summary

Previous research on the social dimension of stress has focused on two important variables: social identity and social support. This protocol introduces an effective experimental manipulation of these two social variables and describes their implementation in a standard stress induction paradigm (Trier Social Stress Test).

Abstract

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations supportive behavior of other people as well as positive social relationships can act as powerful resources to cope with stress. In order to study the interplay between these variables, this protocol describes two effective experimental manipulations of social relationships and supportive behavior in the laboratory. In the present article, these two manipulations are implemented in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST)—a standard stress induction paradigm in which participants are subjected to a simulated job interview. More precisely, we propose (a) a manipulation of the relationship between different protagonists in the TSST by making a shared social identity salient and (b) a manipulation of the behavior of the TSST-selection committee, which acts either supportively or unsupportively. These two experimental manipulations are designed in a modular fashion and can be applied independently of each other but can also be combined. Moreover, these two manipulations can also be integrated into other stress protocols and into other standardized social interactions such as trust games, negotiation tasks, or other group tasks.

Introduction

As social animals¹, humans strive for belongingness². Hence, for humans the behavior of significant others as well as their relationships with them are of great importance, especially in unfamiliar and challenging situations. For example, in stressful situations supportive behavior of other people as well as positive social relationships can act as powerful resources to cope with stress^3,4. These social resources, however, interact in a complex way and are sometimes not effective stress buffers⁵ per se . In order to study the conditions under which supportive behavior and social relationships have an effect on stres....

Protocol

Two studies^11,12 that applied the described procedures have been approved by the ethics committee of the University of Hildesheim and were in line with the declaration of Helsinki.

1. Set-up

Figure 1. Sketch of the set-up in the two experimental rooms. P = real participant, C1/C2 = confederates, mic = microphone, cam = camera <....

Results

Two studies (Häusser et al.¹¹ and Frisch et al.¹²) showed the effectiveness of the identity manipulation on 186 healthy students (97 females, age range 18 to 35 years, mean (M) age = 22.40 years, standard deviation (SD) = 2.83 years). Moreover, Frisch et al.¹² tested the effectiveness of the committee behavior manipulation on 90 healthy students (49 females, age range 18 to 29, M = 22.00 years, SD = 2.31 years).

Discussion

This protocol describes two effective manipulations of (a) the relationship between different protagonists in the TSST (i.e., between participants in the TSST-G¹¹ or between the TSST-committee and the participant¹²) and (b) the behavior of the TSST-committee¹².

The proposed manipulation of social identity has several strengths. First, it can be easily implemented before commencing the TSST. Hence, it does not alter the standard TSST protocol, whic.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
9 T-shirts in 3 colors (i.e., 3 in each color)	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Social/personal identity manipulation.
3 stick-on labels	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Social/personal identity manipulation.
3 boxes (e.g., made of cardboard)	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Social/personal identity manipulation (task 1).
a little pouch	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Bogus lot drawing procedure (entails three lots: two neatly folded lots labeled with with “committee” and one crumpled-up lot labeled with “applicant”).
2 stopwatches	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Place them on the table in Room 2 (for the TSST-committee).
2 video cameras	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Place in Room 2 (one for allegedly filming the participant, one for filming the behavior of the committee).
2 tripods	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Place in Room 2.
1 microphone	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Place in Room 2 (for allegedly recording the speech and the answers of the participant).
1 microphone stand	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Place in Room 2.
several pens	any brand/manufacturer is suitable
Furniture
3 chairs	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Room 1 A and B (social/ personal identity manipulation).
1 big table	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Room 1A (social identity manipulation).
3 small tables	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Room 1B (personal identity manipulation).
1 big table	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Room 2 (TSST-committee).
2 chairs	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Room 2 (TSST-committee).
Questionnaires/ instructions
3 informed consents			Use the  informed consent of your institution (for all participants, i.e., the two confederates and the real participant).
3 manipulation checks of identity salience	Items of Frisch et al. (2014), Häusser et al. (2012) or Doosje et al. (1995)		Hand out after the identity salience manipulation (for all participants, i.e., the two confederates and the real participant).
2 "instructions" for the TSST-committee			Hand out to the committee members (i.e., the confederates) at the end of the bogus lot drawing procedure. These "instructions" are part of the cover story so that the real participant believes that the two confederates are real participants as well and need to be informed about their roles in the TSST. However, since the confederates are of course already familiar with the TSST procedure, it is not important what these instructions actually entail (e.g., as a reminder for the confederates they may entail the exact wording of the verbal instructions of the committee).
2 solutions to the mental arithmetic task			Place them on the table in Room 2 (for the TSST-committee).
1 (or 3) manipulation check(s) of committee behavior	Items of Frisch et al. (2014)		Hand out after the TSST (for the real participant only). (However, in order to keep up the role of the confederates as real participants, a similar questionnaire can be handed out to the confederates asking them how they evaluate their own behavior during the TSST.)
several sheets of blank paper	any brand/manufacturer is suitable		Hand out for task 1, task 2, preparation time of TSST (for the real participant), notes during the TSST (for the TSST-committee).