4 research outputs found
Social stress in human-machine systems: opportunities and challenges of an experimental research approach
This article presents some deliberations on methodological approaches to researching the effects of work-related social stress on performance, with particular consideration being given to machine-induced social stress. The article proposes a broad methodological approach to examine such effects. A particular focus is placed on performance after-effects (e.g. unscheduled probe tasks), extra-role behaviour, and task management behaviour because of conventional performance measures (i.e. scheduled tasks) often being unimpaired by social stressors. The role of the ‘performance protection mode’ as an important concept is discussed. A distinction is made between three facets of after-effects: performance-related, behavioural, and emotional. Unscheduled probe tasks and voluntary tasks are proposed to measure performance-related and behavioural after-effects. Propositions for specific experimental scenarios are made, allowing for sufficiently realistic simulations of social stress at work. The availability of such lab-based simulations of work environments offers good opportunities for this line of experimental research, which is expected to gain in importance since highly automated systems may modify the impact of human-induced social stress or may even represent a social stressor themselves. Finally, the considerations presented in this article are not only of relevance to the domain of social stress but to experimental stress research in general
Reasons, Years and Frequency of Yoga Practice: Effect on Emotion Response Reactivity
Yoga practice, even in the short term, is supposed to enhance wellbeing and counteract psychopathology through modification of emotion reactivity. Yoga teaches that emotional responses may be less pronounced with longer and more frequent practice, and potentially when people perform yoga for mental rather than physical reasons. We tested 36 yoga practitioners of varying experience (between 6 months and 11 years of practice). We assessed participants’ self-reported emotional experience and peripheral physiological reactions (heart rate, skin conductance, respiration) when seeing positive and negative pictures. Results were analyzed as a function of the years of, frequency of, and reasons for yoga practice. We found a heart rate increase with the degree participants performed yoga for mental reasons. In addition, years of yoga practice were significantly associated with reduced abdominal respiratory rate when facing negative pictures, speaking in favor of reduced arousal with yoga experience. Finally, regarding frequency of practice, a higher frequency in the last month was linked to less negative and positive experiences as well as a reduced abdominal respiratory amplitude when viewing positive pictures. Altogether, these results demonstrate that intense short-term yoga practice might relate to a (i) decrease in the intensity of self-reported emotional experiences and (ii) deepened respiration. Short-term effects might be shaped by what participants expect as practice benefits. However, several years of practice might be needed to decrease respiratory arousal in the face of negative situations, which likely is a manifestation of an evolution in the emotion regulation process
Distraction and reappraisal efficiency on immediate negative emotional responses: role of trait anxiety
Background and Objectives: Emotion regulation involves attempts to
influence emotion unfolding and may target experiential, expressive and
physiological responses. Several strategies can be used, such as
reappraisal (re-evaluating the emotional situation to reduce its emotional
meaning) or distraction (turning the attention toward non-emotional
aspects of the situation). Previous research on these regulation strategies
produced contrasting results regarding their efficiency and we
hypothesize that this could be due to individual differences such as trait
anxiety.
Design and Methods: Participants (N = 77) were confronted with negative
pictures and we examined the differential emotional reactivity according
to trait anxiety, followed by a comparison of the efficiency of reappraisal
and distraction in reducing emotional responses.
Results: Results show that trait anxiety has no impact on reactivity at the
experiential and expressive levels, but has an impact at the physiological
level, where high anxiety individuals show increased cardiac orienting
effect, as well as higher skin conductance and respiratory rate.
Regarding regulation, reappraisal and distraction successfully reduce
emotional experience and expressivity, but not physiological arousal.
Conclusions: Such contrasting results involve that high trait anxiety
individuals might benefit from the use of other kinds of strategies than
reappraisal and distraction, some that may successfully target
physiological responses