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Coping with competition: neuroendocrine responses and cognitive variables
Alicia Salvador1, Raquel Costa
1Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Blasco Ibáñez 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. alicia.salvador@uv.es
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|October 11, 2008
Summary
Human competition is a common social stressor. Understanding cognitive appraisal of competitive situations is key to explaining neuroendocrine responses and health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychophysiology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Competition is a frequent social interaction in humans and other species.
- Competitive interactions are critical situations that reveal the health impacts of social stress.
- Individual interpretation (appraisal) of competitive events significantly influences the stress response.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of cognitive appraisal in the neuroendocrine response to social stress during competition.
- To advocate for studying human competition within the social stress framework from an evolutionary perspective.
- To integrate psychological and psychophysiological advances for a deeper understanding of human social stress.
Main Methods:
- Literature review integrating findings from psychology and psychophysiology.
- Analysis of cognitive appraisal processes in the context of social stress.
- Evolutionary perspective on competitive interactions and their health consequences.
Main Results:
- Cognitive appraisal mediates the neuroendocrine response to competitive social stress.
- Individual differences in appraisal influence vulnerability or resistance to stress effects.
- Understanding appraisal is crucial for explaining varied health outcomes in competitive contexts.
Conclusions:
- Human competition should be studied within the social stress framework, incorporating cognitive appraisal.
- An evolutionary perspective is essential for understanding the adaptive nature of stress responses.
- Advances in psychology and psychophysiology offer powerful tools to investigate the cognitive underpinnings of social stress.
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