Stressed men are more sociable
By William Smith
A study conducted by Professor Markus Heinrichs (lead author) and Dr Bernadette von Dawans of the University of Freiburg, Germany, Professor Ernst Fehr of the University of Zurich and Professor Urs Fischbacher of the University of Dresden, Germany, shows some men respond socially to stressful situations. The research findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.
It is only very recently, since the late 1990s that some scientists have begun to demonstrate that women show a ‘tend-and-befriend’ response to stress, however, men were still thought to become aggressive when stressed. This study examined how men actually react in stressful situations. Von Dawans said ‘Apparently men also show social approach behaviour as a direct consequence of stress.’
It is believed that this study is the first to investigate male social behaviour under stress. A standardised procedure for inducing stress in groups by using a public speaking task was developed last year by von Dawans and Heinrichs. Using this procedure the researchers examined how men reacted when set specially designed social interaction games. The researchers could measure positive social behaviour whilst the participants were engaged in these games. They looked for examples of positive social behaviour such as trust or sharing and also negative behaviour such as punishment.
The participants who were put under stress showed considerably more positive social behaviour than those who were not put under stress. It was found that negative behaviour was not affected by stress. Heindrichs said ‘From previous studies in our laboratory, we already knew that positive social contact with a trusted individual before a stressful situation reduces the stress response. Apparently, this coping strategy is anchored so strongly that people can also change their stress responses during or immediately after the stress through positive social behaviour.’
