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Updated: Aug 31, 2025

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Investigating social connection as a protective factor against exam stress in college students
Katherine R Mickley Steinmetz1, Monica M Gaudier-Diaz2, Emily C Huber2
1Department of Psychology, Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.
Abstract:
Objective: To examine social connection as a protective factor against exam stress. Participants: 55 undergraduate students at two universities. Methods: Students were evaluated on an exam day for their hardest class and at baseline, a day in a week where they had no exams. Social connection, salivary cortisol, perceived stress, and cognitive control (measured with the Stroop test) were assessed. Exam scores were later reported. Results: Higher social connection was associated with lower perceived stress on exam day. At a small liberal arts school, higher levels of social connection were associated with higher Stroop scores. This correlation with cognitive control was not significant at a large public university. Conclusions: These findings indicate that social connection may be a protective factor in mitigating perceived stress and cognitive control capabilities may help facilitate reduced exam stress in some school environments.
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