Performance monitoring moderates the relationship between stress and negative affect in response to an exam stressor

The present longitudinal study examined the role of performance monitoring in the relationships between stress (both stress change and chronic stress) and negative affect to a real-life stressor-final exam among 60 undergraduates. Participants firstly completed a Go/No-Go task in the laboratory with electroencephalogram recordings. At T1 (31 days before the final exam), participants reported their chronic perceived stress. Then, with the daily dairy method, their daily stress level and negative affect were collected for three consecutive days. At T2 (three days before the final exam), the 3-day daily dairy was repeated. Results showed that performance monitoring, as measured by behavioral adjustments and electrophysiological correlates, moderated the effects of stress change as well as chronic perceived stress on the negative emotional response to the final exam. More specifically, as the stress change from baseline to exam increases, individuals with shorter PES, lower PEAD or larger Pe amplitudes experienced less negative affect increases in response to exam. Additionally, individuals with shorter PES or larger Pe amplitudes showed no significant relationship between chronic stress and negative affect, whereas individuals with longer PES or smaller Pe amplitudes showed significant positive relationship between chronic stress and negative affect increases in response to exam. The results demonstrated that efficient performance monitoring is a protective factor for stress.