The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 22 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Turning the knots in your stomach into bows: Reappraising arousal improves performance on the GRE
Open accessAbstract
This research examined the benefits of interpreting physiological arousal as a challenge response on practice and actual Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Participants who were preparing to take the GRE reported to the laboratory for a practice GRE study. Participants assigned to a reappraisal condition were told arousal improves performance, whereas control participants were not given this information. We collected saliva samples at baseline and after the appraisal manipulation, which were then assayed for salivary alpha amylase (sAA), a measure of sympathetic nervous system activation. Reappraisal participants exhibited a significant increase in sAA and outperformed controls on the GRE-math section. One to three months later, participants returned to the lab and provided their score reports from their actual GRE. Again, reappraisal participants scored higher than controls on the GRE-math section. These findings illuminate the powerful influence appraisal has on physiology and performance both in and out of the laboratory.
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“Furthermore, the reappraisal participants, compared to control, earned higher GRE exam scores when they took the actual test in the following months (Jamieson et al., 2010).”
From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Jamieson et al., 2010
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“Indeed, consistent with the challenge and threat framework, the greater the SNS increase the better the math performance (see also Dienstbier, 1989, for additional examples).”
From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Jamieson et al., 2010
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“Furthermore, in some contexts, SNS activation is greater in challenge than threat states, consistent with Dienstbier’s idea of physiological toughness, which suggests that larger increases in SNS activation to novel situations is related to effective coping and better performance (see also Jamieson et al., 2010).”
From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Jamieson et al., 2010
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Citations
Cites
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“More specifically with regards to reappraisal, Gross argues that appraisal processes occur early in the emotion-generative process, and the downstream outcome (the experienced emotion) is most easily altered by changing appraisals of the meaning of internal states (Gross, 2002).”
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“Since research suggests that reappraising arousal improves executive functioning (Johns et al., 2008), it may not be surprising that appraisal improved only math performance.”
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Self-citationSocial "facilitation" as challenge and threat.
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BackgroundDecisions Under Distress: Stress Profiles Influence Anchoring and Adjustment
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Emotion regulation: current status and future prospects
Gross, J. J. (2015) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2014.940781 · Cited by 5,229
A Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students
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More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science
Epel, E. S., Crosswell, A. D., Mayer, S. E., Prather, A. A., Slavich, G. M., Puterman, E., & Mendes, W. B. (2018) · Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.001 · Cited by 1,077
“Furthermore, the reappraisal participants, compared to control, earned higher GRE exam scores when they took the actual test in the following months (Jamieson et al., 2010).”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationMind-Set Interventions Are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement
Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797615571017 · Cited by 981
Metadata
- Authors
- Jamieson, J. P., Mendes, W. B., Blackstock, E., & Schmader, T.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Mendes, Wendy Berry
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-01
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 208-212
- ISSN
- 0022-1031 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2790291
- OpenAlex
- W2120001707
- Cited by
- 376
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 2.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL079383)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH071749)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Keywords
- cognitive reappraisal, physiological arousal, challenge-response, gradient echo, test performance, salivary amylase, sympathetic activation, test anxiety, mathematics scores
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