Timing matters in stress appraisal: The relationship between retrospective appraisal and stress responses

Although psychosocial stressors are known to impact task performance and trigger neuroendocrine responses, the dynamic nature of the stress appraisal process is often neglected in research.

This study aims to explore whether self-reported appraisals at various time points can accurately represent an individual's behavioral and physiological stress responses.

A total of 137 participants were recruited to induce individual stress states using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Self-reported appraisals were measured both before (anticipatory appraisal) and after the stressor (retrospective appraisal) to capture the dynamic process. Concurrently, participants' cortisol responses and task performances were documented.

Findings indicate that anticipatory appraisal does not significantly reflect task performance. In contrast, retrospective appraisal is strongly associated with the performance of corresponding tasks. Regarding cortisol levels, significantly negative results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the retrospective appraisal of the speech task is the sole variable to represent the cortisol response under stress.

The results highlight that retrospective appraisals could represent individuals' behavioral and physiological responses to stressors more accurately than anticipatory appraisals. These findings provide empirical evidence for choosing the appropriate timing to acquire accurate self-reported appraisals and also help to build a mapping relationship between self-reported, behavioral, and physiological data.