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Related Concept Videos

Psychological Responses to Stress01:20

Psychological Responses to Stress

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Psychological responses to stress encompass the various cognitive and emotional reactions individuals experience when faced with challenging or threatening situations, such as a job loss. Prolonged exposure to stressors can disturb emotional balance, increasing negative emotions (e.g., anxiety and sadness) and diminishing positive emotions (e.g., joy and satisfaction). These persistent emotional shifts are associated with an increased risk of both physical illness and mental health issues, such...
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Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory01:20

Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory

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Cognitive psychologist Richard Lazarus proposed the cognitive-mediational theory of emotions, which emphasizes how individuals' assessments of stressors significantly affect their experience of stress. According to Lazarus, the stress response is determined by a two-step appraisal process: primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. These cognitive appraisals help individuals evaluate the potential impact of a stressor and determine the adequacy of their coping resources.
Primary Appraisal:...
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The Influence of Cognition on Affect01:29

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Cognition plays a pivotal role in shaping emotional experiences, as demonstrated by Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion. According to this model, emotion arises from a combination of physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. The body’s physiological response to stimuli is ambiguous and only gains emotional significance through cognitive labeling. For instance, an increased heart rate and adrenaline surge while standing near an attractive person may be...
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Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused01:20

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Emotion-focused coping refers to a set of strategies aimed at managing the emotional impact of stressors, rather than directly addressing their causes. This approach involves altering one's emotional response to stressful situations to reduce their psychological effects. For example, individuals might talk with a friend or engage in activities like journaling to express their feelings. Such actions can help achieve emotional clarity or release, providing the psychological stability needed...
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Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II01:23

Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques II

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Personality types, particularly Type A and Type B, significantly influence how individuals respond to stress. These personality distinctions are marked by varying levels of ambition, competitiveness, and coping styles, all of which shape an individual's resilience to stressors.
Type A Personality: Driven and Easily Stressed
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Coping Strategies: Problem Focused01:27

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Coping strategies are methods people use to manage, tolerate, or reduce the effects of stressors. These strategies involve both behavioral and psychological actions to handle stressful situations. One common approach is problem-focused coping, which aims to change or eliminate the source of stress rather than merely addressing its consequences. This method involves taking direct action to resolve the issue causing stress.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 22, 2025

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
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Acute Psychosocial Stress Increases Cognitive-Effort Avoidance.

Mario Bogdanov1, Jonas P Nitschke1, Sophia LoParco1,2

  • 1Department of Psychology, McGill University.

Psychological Science
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Acute stress reduces motivation for cognitive effort, not cognitive control ability. Participants under stress preferred easier tasks, showing intact performance on challenging ones, highlighting a shift in effort motivation.

Keywords:
acute stresscognitive controldecision makingmental effortmotivated cognitionopen data

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Stress Research

Background:

  • Adverse effects of stress on cognition are often attributed to impaired cognitive control.
  • Emerging evidence suggests cognitive control is effortful and aversive, hinting at motivation deficits under stress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether acute stress decreases motivation to exert cognitive effort.
  • To differentiate between stress-induced deficits in cognitive control function versus motivation.

Main Methods:

  • A within-subjects design with 40 healthy young adults under stress and control conditions.
  • Utilized a demand-selection task assessing choices between low-demand and high-demand cognitive tasks.
  • Task-switching paradigm was employed to measure cognitive performance.

Main Results:

  • Acute stress significantly increased preference for less demanding cognitive behaviors.
  • Task-switching performance remained unaffected by the stress condition.
  • Bayesian and multiverse analyses confirmed the reliability of these findings.

Conclusions:

  • Stress modulates behavior by altering the motivation to engage cognitive control, rather than impairing control mechanisms themselves.
  • Findings offer new perspectives on stress-related behavioral changes and effort-based decision-making.