Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
The impact of acute stress on cognitive functioning: a matter of cognitive demands?
Thomas Plieger1, Andrea Felten1, Elena Diks1
1a Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Neurogenetics , University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Introduction:
There is a controversy in the literature whether stress and related cortisol responses are beneficial or impairing for cognitive functioning. Conflicting results might be due to individual differences in stress reactivity and cognitive load of the applied tasks.
Methods:
N = 48 participants underwent the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test and were confronted with the Frankfurter Aufmerksamkeits-Inventar-2 (FAIR-2) which is a low-load attention task and two subscales of the Intelligenz-Struktur-Test 2000 R (I-S-T 2000R) as a high-load reasoning task before and after the stressor. Participants were post hoc divided into high (stress induced cortisol increase of ≥1.5 nmol/l) vs. low-cortisol responders.
Results:
Cortisol responders showed an increased attentional performance in the post-stress condition (η2 > .14). However, there were neither stress or responder main effects nor an interaction effect on reasoning abilities.
Conclusions:
Results of the present study show that stress related changes in cognitive performance are due to individual differences in cortisol response and the cognitive load of the performed task. Future studies will show if these results are also valid for alternative cognitive tasks and if they can be replicated in female participants.
More Related Videos
07:59Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory
Published on: June 14, 2019
08:25Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Psychological Responses to Stress
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Physiological Foundation of Stress
Role of the Sympathetic Nervous System
Adrenaline triggers the...
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis
Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Primary Appraisal:...