Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Despite a long history of empirical research, the potential vocal markers of stress remain unclear. Previous studies examining speech under stress most consistently report an increase in voice pitch (the acoustic correlate of fundamental frequency, F0), however numerous studies have failed to replicate this finding. In the present study we tested the prediction that these inconsistencies are tied to variation in the severity of the stress response, wherein voice changes may be observed predominantly among individuals who show a cortisol stress response (i.e., an increase in free cortisol levels) above a critical threshold. Voice recordings and saliva samples were collected from university psychology students at baseline and again immediately prior to an oral examination. Voice recordings included both read and spontaneous speech, from which we measured mean, minimum, maximum, and the standard deviation in F0. We observed an increase in mean and minimum F0 under stress in both read and spontaneous speech, whereas maximum F0 and its standard deviation showed no systematic changes under stress. Our results confirmed that free cortisol levels increased by an average of 74% (ranging from 0 to 270%) under stress. Critically, increases in cortisol concentrations significantly predicted increases in mean F0 under stress for both speech types, but did not predict variation in F0 at baseline. On average, stress induced increases in voice pitch occurred only when free cortisol levels more than doubled their baseline concentrations. Our results suggest that researchers examining speech under stress should control for individual differences in the magnitude of the stress response

Psychobiological responses to critically evaluated multitasking

In order to understand psychobiological responses to stress it is necessary to observe how people react to controlled stressors. A range of stressors exist for this purpose; however, laboratory stressors that are representative of real life situations provide more ecologically valid opportunities for assessing stress responding. The current study assessed psychobiological responses to an ecologically valid laboratory stressor involving multitasking and critical evaluation. The stressor elicited significant increases in psychological and cardiovascular stress reactivity; however, no cortisol reactivity was observed. Other socially evaluative laboratory stressors that lead to cortisol reactivity typically require a participant to perform tasks that involve verbal responses, whilst standing in front of evaluative others. The current protocol contained critical evaluation of cognitive performance; however, this was delivered from behind a seated participant. The salience of social evaluation may therefore be related to the response format of the task and the method of evaluation. That is, the current protocol did not involve the additional vulnerability associated with in person, face-to-face contact, and verbal delivery. Critical evaluation of multitasking provides an ecologically valid technique for inducing laboratory stress and provides an alternative tool for assessing psychological and cardiovascular reactivity. Future studies could additionally use this paradigm to investigate those components of social evaluation necessary for eliciting a cortisol response

Increased Risk Taking in Relation to Chronic Stress in Adults

Chronic stress is a public health problem that affects a significant part of the population. While the physiological damage it causes is under ongoing scrutiny, its behavioral effects have been overlooked. This is one of the first studies to examine the relation between chronic stress and decision-making, using a standard lottery paradigm. We measured learning-independent risk taking in the gain domain through binary choices between financially incentivized lotteries. We then measured self-reported chronic stress with the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS). We additionally collected hair samples in a subsample of volunteers, in order to quantify chronic cortisol exposure. We discovered a significant, positive correlation between self-reported chronic stress and risk taking that is stronger for women than for men. This confirms part of the findings in acute stress research that show a connection between higher stress and increased risk taking. However, unlike the biologically-based results from acute stress research, we did not identify a significant relation between hair cortisol and behavior. In line with previous literature, we found a clear gender difference in risk taking and self-reports: women generally take less risk and report slightly higher stress levels than men. We conclude that perceived chronic stress can impact behavior in risky situations

Overcommitment to work is associated with vital exhaustion

Objectives: Vital exhaustion has been shown to predict the progression and manifestation of cardiovascular disease. Little is known about the relationship between vital exhaustion and overcommitment, the inability to withdraw from obligations at work. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between vital exhaustion and overcommitment at work, as measured by the intrinsic-effort scale of the effort-reward model after consideration of other potentially salutogenetic and pathogenetic working conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional study is based on a stratified random sample of 634 employees (mean age 39.9years, standard deviation 10.7years) from a manufacturing and assembly plant for aeroplane parts. Participants completed a questionnaire, which included the nine-item shortened Maastricht exhaustion questionnaire to score the dependent variable exhaustion, and the six-item short form of the intrinsic-effort scale ("immersion”) of the effort-reward-imbalance model as the primary independent variable. Perceived work stress was assessed by Siegrist's effort-reward-imbalance questionnaire and the 52-item, 13 subscale salutogenetic subjective work assessment (SALSA) questionnaire, which focuses on indicators of perceived work stress in terms of pathogenetic and salutogenetic descriptors of decision latitude, psychological job demands, and social support. Additional candidate covariates included depression, anxiety and type-D personality. Results: In regression analysis, overcommitment (r=0.516; P<0.0001) was independently associated with vital exhaustion. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that overcommitment explained 27% of the variance of vital exhaustion. Conclusions: Overcommitment, indicating an exhaustive work-related coping style, is independently associated with vital exhaustion. It appears to be an important personality trait that may contribute to feelings of exhaustion at times of increased job strai

How stressful are economic competitions in the lab? An investigation with physiological measures

Competition is ubiquitous in economic life. Yet, negative consequences of competitive environments have been reported and everyday experience suggests that competitive situations can be very stressful. It is, however, an open question whether or not economic competitions in the laboratory indeed elicit physiological stress reactions. Our study examined the subjectively perceived stress and the physiological changes induced by a well-established economic laboratory competition paradigm (first used in Niederle and Vesterlund 2007) in a mixed-gender sample of 105 healthy participants. A mental arithmetic task was performed first under a piece rate (i.e., non-competitive) payment scheme and afterwards under a tournament condition. In a third round, participants decided how to be paid (i.e., piece rate or tournament). Our results indicate that compared to a control group, which performed only the non-competitive condition, the competitive game condition indeed elicited subjective and physiological reactions that are indicative of mild stress. Furthermore, reactions that are thought to reflect an active coping style were related to the self-selection into competition in the third round of the game. We speculate that real-life economic competitions might be even stronger stressors and the way how people cope with this kind of stress might be related to competitiveness in real-life economic contexts

Differential heart rate reactivity and recovery after psychosocial stress (TSST) in healthy children, younger adults, and elderly adults: The impact of age and gender

In addition to numerous reports about psychophysiological stress responses to acute stressors, there are few data available on gender differences of stress-induced heart rate responses in multiple age groups applying the same psychological stressor. Second, the assessment of poststress recovery appears to be neglected in the empirical literature. For this study, data from 5 independent studies were reanalyzed to investigate the impact of age and gender on heart rate responses and poststress recovery to a standardized psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) in 28 children, 34 younger adults, and 26 older adults. As expected, prestressor baselines correlated significantly with chronological age (r = -.27, p = .01). There was a marked age-related decrease in the heart rate stress response (p = .0003) with children and younger adults showing significantly higher increases than elderly persons. The analysis of gender effects showed that girls had higher heart rate increases during the stress exposure than boys (p = .03). In younger adults, stress responsivity was also higher in women (p = .03). Peak heart rate responses were comparable in older men and women, with only men returning to prestressor baselines during the observation period. In sum, this reanalysis revealed differential heart rate responses and recovery after exposition to the TSST in healthy children, younger adults, and elderly adult

Größenselektive Synthese von nanokristallinem Cobaltoxidhydroxid - Partikelwachstum, strukturelle Fehlordnung, magnetische Eigenschaften

Ziel dieser Arbeit war die systematische Untersuchung der physikalischen und chemischen Eigenschaften von nc-CoOOH in Abhängigkeit von der mittleren Kristallitgröße und der Zusammensetzung. Die Synthese erfolgt in basischer Lösung durch Oxidation von frisch gefälltem Co(OH)₂ mit Luftsauerstoff bzw. Brom oder durch Oxidation einer Cobalt(II)-Lösung mit in-situ hergestelltem Bromat. In Abhängigkeit von den Synthesebedingungen wird nc-Cobaltoxidhydroxid mit variabler Zusammensetzung erhalten. Die Proben unterscheiden sich außerdem im Partikeldurchmesser, dem Grad an Fehlordnung, der spezifischen Oberfläche und Partikelmorphologie sowie dem magnetischen Verhalten. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass kleinere Partikel stärker wachsen als größere. Bei CoOOH-Br₂ und CoOOH-BrO₃⁻ werden bei höheren Temperaturen größere Partikel erhalten, wohingegen bei CoOOH-O₂ unabhängig von der Temperatur nach 24 h ähnliche Partikeldurchmesser gefunden werden. Die Formulierung eines allgemein gültigen Wachstumsgesetzes ist nicht möglich. Die Oxidation mit O₂ und die anschließende hydrothermale Nachbehandlung liefert formanisotrope Partikel mit einem Aspektverhältnis von 2-4 und Partikeldurchmesser zwischen 12 nm und 31 nm. Charakteristisch für solche Proben ist neben dem vergrößerten c-Gitterparameter der als Schulter an (101) bei kleinerem Beugungswinkel auftretende symmetrieverbotene Reflex. Das gefundene schwache paramagnetische Moment kann durch unvollständig oxidiertes Co²⁺ erklärt werden. Die spezifische Oberfläche nimmt mit zunehmenden Partikeldurchmesser von etwa 100 m²/g auf 37-60 m²/g ab. Durch Oxidation mit Brom und anschließender hydrothermaler Nachbehandlung sind formisotrope Partikel mit Partikeldurchmessern zwischen 6 nm und 26 nm zugänglich. Der berechnete Co²⁺-Anteil von CoOOH-Br₂ (6-8 %) ist größer bei CoOOH-O₂ (1-2 %). Der Vergleich der XPS-Messung mit Referenzspektren von reinen Co(III)- und Co(II)-Verbindungen bestätigt die Anwesenheit von Co²⁺. NEXAFS-Messungen zeigen keine Oberflächenanreicherung mit Co²⁺. Mit zu-nehmendem Partikeldurchmesser nimmt die spezifische Oberfläche von 77-90 m²/g auf 30-42 m²/g ab. Durch Oxidation mit Bromat und nachfolgender hydrothermaler Behandlung können formanisotrope Partikel mit Partikeldurchmessern zwischen 3-21 nm erhalten werden. Allgemein liefert diese Syntheseroute bei Raumtemperatur die kleinsten Partikel (BrO₃⁻: 3-5 nm, Br₂: 6-9 nm, O₂: 12-18 nm und zugleich das am meisten fehlgeordnete Material. Charakteristisch für unbehandelte Proben ist die Abwesenheit von (104) und (107), die anomale Reflexhalbwertsbreite von (015) sowie die Überlappung von (012) und (101). Im Vergleich mit nachbehandeltem CoOOH-O₂ bzw. Br₂ ist die strukturelle Fehlordnung von nachbehandeltem CoOOH-BrO₃⁻ stärker ausgeprägt, was sich durch die Verschiebung von (101) bzw. (006) zu kleinerem bzw. von (110) zu größerem Beugungswinkel, dem Fehlen von (104) und (107) sowie der anomalen Reflexbreite von (015) und (012) belegen lässt. Der paramagnetische Beitrag und damit der berechnete Co²⁺-Anteil von unbehandeltem CoOOH-BrO₃⁻ (6-10 %) ist vergleichbar mit dem von CoOOH-Br₂ (6-8 %) und deutlich größer als bei CoOOH-O₂ (1-2 %). Die spezifische Oberfläche nimmt mit zunehmendem Partikeldurchmesser von 190-213 m²/g auf 74-158 m²/g ab. Bis zu einem Partikeldurchmesser von 6 nm sind Mikroporen vorhanden. Durch Wahl der Synthesebedingungen kann nc-CoOOH mit unterschiedlichem Grad an Fehlordnung hergestellt werden. DIFFaX-Simulationen deuten aufgrund der gefundenen Reflexverbreiterungen und -verschiebungen auf AB-Stapelfehler hin. Die Methode zur globalen Optimierung und Verfeinerung von Mikrostrukturen untersucht die Auswirkungen einer Vergrößerung der Elementarzelle auf die Verfeinerung und das resultierende Mikrostrukturmodell. Das Modell zeigt die Unterbrechung der ideale Stapelabfolge von CoOOH-O₂ durch einige AB- und ABC-Stapelfehlern, wobei AB-Stapelfehler am häufigsten auftreten. Für CoOOH-Br₂ werden weniger reguläre Stapelfehler und mehr zufällige Verschiebungen beobachtet. Der größte Anteil an Stapelfehlern ist bei CoOOH-BrO₃⁻ vorhanden. Neben den gefundenen zufälligen Verschiebungen und wenigen ABC-Schichtabfolgen wird die ideale Schichtabfolge von vielen kleinen AB-Schichten unterbrochen. Die Konsistenz des Modells wurde mittels PDF-Analyse überprüft. Für CoOOH-O₂ mit wenigen Stapelfehlern liefert die PDF eine gute Anpassung an die Literaturdaten. Das Strukturmodell führt bei größeren Abständen zu einer besseren Anpassung und beschreibt die reale Struktur besser. Aufgrund der zahlreichen Stapelfehler in der Struktur von CoOOH-BrO₃⁻ wird bei Verwendung der Literaturdaten eine moderate Anpassung erhalten. Die Verwendung des Mikrostrukturmodells verbessert die Anpassung deutlich, was an der annähernd perfekten Übereinstimmung zwischen gemessener und kalkulierter Kurve bei Abständen größer als 10 Å erkennbar wird

De acordo com o quê: arte e a filosofia do "fim da arte"

Em 1964, quando Danto pela primeira vez encontrou a Brillo Box de Warhol, Jasper Johns fez uma pintura intitulada De acordo com o quê. O novo livro de Danto, Após o fim da arte, também provoca essa questão porque em sua reafirmação do veredito de Hegel sobre o papel histórico da arte ele abandona uma parte essencial da definição implícita de arte: a questão da adequação entre conteúdo e apresentação. Por que dispensar esse ponto crucial do julgamento de qualidade? Minha crítica se divide em três partes. A primeira parte mostra como todo o argumento histórico se apoia em uma mudança de critério. De acordo com Hegel, a arte atinge seu mais alto ponto de realização na antiguidade clássica quando a incorporação adequada parecia indispensável para a presença do espírito. Subsequentemente perdeu esse posto exclusivo – primeiro através da Cristandade, depois através da filosofia moderna – quando emergiu uma nova autoconsciência que não mais parecia precisar de manifestação externa. Ainda que Danto discuta o conceito de autocontrole absoluto como o ponto de fuga metafísico da construção de Hegel, ele, no entanto, endossa sua aparente evidência na arte e na cultura do final do século XX. Na segunda parte discuto as características distorções do tipo hegeliano de historicismo e as confronto tanto com a óbvia deturpação das próprias obras de arte quanto com o diferente código de conduta na história prática da arte. Isso leva a uma conclusão algo decepcionante: de acordo com um antigo, profundamente enraizado preconceito filosófico, não há problema sobre qualidade em arte, porque o verdadeiro parâmetro e concretização da arte é a própria filosofia. A parte final tenta desatar esse nó ao mostrar que há, na verdade, contemporaneamente a Hegel, uma notável interpretação diferente dos auto referentes auspícios da arte moderna que chega muito perto de suas verdadeiras realizações, e isso sem negar o básico predicamento filosófico do qual Danto nos lembrou

Relation of morning serum cortisol to prothrombotic activity in women with stable coronary artery disease

Background: Increased circulating cortisol levels have been associated with severity of atherosclerosis. Low-grade systemic thrombogenicity plays a major role in the initiation and progression of coronary disease. We hypothesized a direct relationship between cortisol and hemostasis factors related to a prothrombotic state in coronary artery disease. Methods: We measured morning serum cortisol and activated clotting factor VII, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity in 285 women (56±7years) between 3 and 6months after an acute coronary event. To test whether the relationship between cortisol and hemostasis factors would be independent, statistical adjustment was made for demographic, biomedical, life style, and psychosocial variables. Results: Higher serum cortisol levels predicted higher fibrinogen (β=.17, P=.001) and higher von Willebrand factor (β=.16, P=.008), all independently of covariates, including C-reactive protein, which was also an independent predictor of fibrinogen (β=.20, P=.001) and von Willebrand factor (β=.16, P=.004). Higher levels of vital exhaustion were associated with higher levels of activated clotting factor VII independently of covariates and depression (β=.18, P=.045). Cortisol showed crude correlations with vital exhaustion (r=.14, P=.022) and with depression (r=.13, P=.043) but did not mediate the relationship between psychosocial variables and hemostatic factors. Conclusions: Morning serum cortisol showed a modest but independent association with prothrombotic activity in women with coronary artery disease suggesting that increased cortisol levels might contribute to atherosclerosis via eliciting a hypercoagulable stat

Chewing gum moderates multi-task induced shifts in stress, mood, and alertness: A re-examination

The finding that chewing gum can moderate stress and mood changes following a multi-task cognitive stressor (Scholey, Haskell, Robertson, Kennedy, Milne, and Wetherell, 2009) was re-examined. In a repeated measures cross-over design, thirty participants completed a 20-minute multi-tasking stressor on consecutive days, both with and without chewing gum. Both prior to and post stressor, participants provided salivary cortisol samples and self-rated measures of stress, state anxiety, calmness, contentedness, and alertness. Contrary to Scholey et al. (2009), chewing gum failed to attenuate both salivary cortisol levels and the increase in self-rated stress. Self-rated anxiety, calmness, and contentedness were not impacted by chewing gum. This suggests that the stress effects reported by Scholey et al. may be constrained by particular features of that study (e.g. morning testing). However, consistent with Scholey et al. (2009), chewing gum was shown to increase alertness following the stressor. The mechanisms underpinning heightened alertness are unclear; however, such increases may be linked to greater cerebral activity following the chewing of gum (Fang Li, Lu, Gong, and Yew, 2005)