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Updated: Jun 9, 2025
Enactive Phenomenological Approach to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Mixed Methods Point of View
Published on: January 7, 2019
TSST-OL: Comparison between online and laboratory application and effects on empathy.
Katrin Heyers1, Lena Sophie Pfeifer2, Christian J Merz2
1Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Experimental Psychology II and Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany.
The remote Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-OL) effectively induces stress at home and in the lab. Home-based testing buffers anticipatory stress, making it a valuable tool for studying stress reactivity and its impact on empathy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Online research protocols are increasingly utilized in psychological and neuroscientific studies.
- The influence of acute stress on cognitive and affective empathy requires further understanding.
- The remote Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-OL) was developed for context-independent stress induction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the TSST-OL across different settings (home vs. laboratory) by comparing stress reactivity.
- To assess the impact of experimentally induced stress on cognitive and affective empathy.
- To evaluate the suitability of the TSST-OL for home-based stress induction research.
Main Methods:
- A 2x2 factorial design with 120 participants (60 women) undergoing TSST-OL and friendly TSST-OL (fTSST-OL) at home or in the laboratory.
- Stress induction assessed via physiological measures (cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase) and subjective stress/affect ratings.
- Empathy performance evaluated using a post-stress task assessing cognitive and affective empathy.
Main Results:
- TSST-OL successfully induced stress in both home and laboratory settings.
- Higher cortisol levels were observed in the laboratory, suggesting buffered anticipatory stress in home settings.
- Stress reduced affective empathy for positive emotions, while cognitive empathy remained generally intact.
- Positive emotions were more easily identified and empathized than negative emotions, except under stress conditions.
Conclusions:
- The TSST-OL is a validated tool for inducing stress in both home and laboratory environments.
- Home-based TSST-OL application appears to mitigate anticipatory stress, enhancing its utility for stress reactivity research.
- Further research is needed to clarify the complex relationship between stress, empathy, stimulus valence, and sex.
