A Meta-analysis of the effects of experimental manipulations of social support during laboratory stress

Thorsteinsson, Einar B.; James, Jack E.

doi:10.1080/08870449908407353

Cited by 178 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…36). In humans, social support is correlated with better physical and mental health as well as lower mortality risks (37)(38)(39)(40). Similar kinds of findings are accumulating for a range of nonhuman species, including rodents (41,42), dolphins (43), wild horses (44), female baboons (45)(46)(47), and male macaques (48).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Foundations Of Human Altruismsupporting

confidence: 50%

Evolutionary foundations of human prosocial sentiments

Silk

House²

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

158

116

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A growing body of evidence shows that humans are remarkably altruistic primates. Food sharing and division of labor play an important role in all human societies, and cooperation extends beyond the bounds of close kinship and networks of reciprocating partners. In humans, altruism is motivated at least in part by empathy and concern for the welfare of others. Although altruistic behavior is well-documented in other primates, the range of altruistic behaviors in other primate species, including the great apes, is much more limited than it is in humans. Moreover, when altruism does occur among other primates, it is typically limited to familiar group members-close kin, mates, and reciprocating partners. This suggests that there may be fundamental differences in the social preferences that motivate altruism across the primate order, and there is currently considerable interest in how we came to be such unusual apes. A body of experimental studies designed to examine the phylogenetic range of prosocial sentiments and behavior is beginning to shed some light on this issue. In experimental settings, chimpanzees and tamarins do not consistently take advantage of opportunities to deliver food rewards to others, although capuchins and marmosets do deliver food rewards to others in similar kinds of tasks. Although chimpanzees do not satisfy experimental criteria for prosociality in food delivery tasks, they help others complete tasks to obtain a goal. Differences in performance across species and differences in performance across tasks are not yet fully understood and raise new questions for further study.prosocial preferences | punishment | fairness

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Section: Phylogenetic Foundations Of Human Altruismsupporting

confidence: 50%

Evolutionary foundations of human prosocial sentiments

Silk

House²

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

158

116

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“…Social support is well known to alleviate psychological stress in both humans and other animals (reviewed by e.g. Carter 1998; Panskepp 1998; Thorsteinsson & James 1999;DeVries et al 2003;Rosal et al 2004). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focused grooming networks and stress alleviation in wild female baboons

Wittig

Crockford

Lehmann

et al. 2008

Hormones and Behavior

240

215

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We examine the relationship between glucocorticoid (GC) levels and grooming behavior in wild female baboons during a period of instability in the alpha male rank position. All females' GC levels rose significantly at the onset of the unstable period, though levels in females who were at lower risk of infanticide began to decrease sooner in the following weeks. Three factors suggest that females relied on a focused grooming network as a coping mechanism to alleviate stress. First, all females' grooming networks became less diverse in the weeks following the initial upheaval. Second, females whose grooming had already focused on a few predictable partners showed a less dramatic rise in GC levels than females whose grooming network had been more diverse. Third, females who contracted their grooming network the most experienced a greater decrease in GC levels in the following week. We conclude that close bonds with a few preferred partners allow female baboons to alleviate the stress associated with social instability.

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“…Individual differences in perceived support and the experimental manipulation of support are generally associated with reduced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity to stressors (Kamarck, Peterman, & Raynor, 1998;Lepore, 1998;Thorsteinsson & James, 2000;Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996). For example, the presence of a friend attenuates CVR in response to stressful laboratory tasks (Christenfeld et al, 1997).…”

Section: Social Isolation and Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial influences on the development and course of coronary heart disease: Current status and implications for research and practice.

Smith¹,

Ruiz²

2002

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

292

208

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Psychosocial characteristics predict the development and course of coronary heart disease (CHD). In this review, the authors discussed human and animal research on psychophysiological mechanisms influencing coronary artery disease and its progression to CHD. They then reviewed literature on personality and characteristics of the social environment as risk factors for CHD. Hostility confers increased risk, and a group of risk factors involving depression and anxiety may be especially important following myocardial infarction. Social isolation, interpersonal conflict, and job stress confer increased risk. Psychosocial interventions may have beneficial effects on CHD morbidity and mortality, although inconsistent results and a variety of methodological limitations preclude firm conclusions. Finally, they discussed implications for clinical care and the agenda for future research.Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States; each year about 450,000 people die from CHD, and 1,000,000 experience an initial or recurrent coronary event (American Heart Association, 2001). Among healthy 40-year olds, between 40% and 50% of men and between 25% and 35% of women will later develop CHD (Lloyd-Jones, Larson, Beiser, & Levy, 1999). Over $100 billion is spent on CHD each year in the United States in direct medical costs, disability payments, and lost productivity (American Heart Association, 2001). This disease involves the three major topics composing behavioral medicine and health psychology, making it a central focus throughout their 30-year history. In the first (i.e., health behavior and prevention), modifiable behavioral risk factors (e.g., smoking, activity level, diet) are important risk factors for the development of CHD (Stamler et al., 1999;Wannamethee, Shaper, Walker, & Ebrahim, 1998), and behavior change is an essential component of prevention. In the second topic (i.e., stress and disease or psychosomatics), other psychological and social factors have more direct effects on the development and course of CHD through the intervening psychobiological effects of stress and negative emotions. In the third (i.e., psychosocial aspects of medical illness and care), established CHD has extensive emotional and social impacts on patients and their families, behavior is a key element of standard care (e.g., medication adherence, dietary change, exercise), and psychosocial interventions are useful additions to traditional medical and surgical treatment.Like the article on CHD in the previous special issue on behavioral medicine in this journal (Thoresen & Powell, 1992), we focused primarily on the second major topic-psychosocial influences on the development and course of CHD. We also reviewed one aspect of the third topic-interventions targeting psychosocial risk factors and their underlying psychophysiological mechanisms. Perhaps the most important implication of research on psychosocial risk factors for coronary disease is that interventions targeting these factors could reduce cardiac morb...

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A Meta-analysis of the effects of experimental manipulations of social support during laboratory stress

Cited by 178 publications

References 48 publications

Evolutionary foundations of human prosocial sentiments

Evolutionary foundations of human prosocial sentiments

Focused grooming networks and stress alleviation in wild female baboons

Psychosocial influences on the development and course of coronary heart disease: Current status and implications for research and practice.

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