The DOI matches its Crossref record; 45 of the 45 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Is stress affecting our ability to tune into others? Evidence for gender differences in the effects of stress on self-other distinction
Abstract
Stress is a ubiquitous challenge in society as we consistently interact with others under the influence of stress. Distinguishing self- from other-related mental representations plays an important role for social interactions, and is a prerequisite for crucial social skills such as action understanding, empathy, and mentalizing. Little is known, however, about the effects of stress on self-other distinction. We assessed how acute stress impacts self-other distinction in the perceptual-motor, the affective, and the cognitive domain, in a male and female sample. In all domains, the results show opposing effects of stress on the two genders: while women showed increases in self-other distinction, men showed decreases. Our findings suggest that women flexibly disambiguate self and other under stress, enabling accurate social responses, while men respond with increased egocentricity and less adaptive regulation. This has crucial implications for explaining gender differences in social skills such as empathy and prosociality.
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“In addition, males and females are known to react differently to stressful life events, with males being more likely to withdraw, respond aggressively and/or experience depressive symptoms, particularly in the face of events like divorce/separation and work problems [5,6].”
From Masculinity and suicidal thinking (2017) · cites this paper as [6]
Citations
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Forbes, P., Aydogan, G., Braunstein, J., Todorova, B., Wagner, I. C., Lockwood, P. L., Apps, M. A. J., Ruff, C. C., & Lamm, C. (2023) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.87271.1
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tomova, L., von Dawans, B., Heinrichs, M., Silani, G., & Lamm, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Vienna (AT)
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (IT)
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-05
- Volume
- 43
- Pages
- 95-104
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2097708632
- Semantic Scholar
- 7845d37572a8de66824c11fa38096ad9d4b4521c
- Cited by
- 224
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 78 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 6.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- FreiDok plus (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg) (submittedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- FP7 2012 Aeronautics and Air Transport programme (ACP2-GA-2012-314765-Man4Gen)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- acute stress, self-other distinction, gender differences, social cognition, empathy, mentalization, action understanding, self-centeredness, emotion regulation, social skills, prosocial behavior
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Ego, Empathy, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Imitative Behavior, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological, Young Adult
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