Dataset for: Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Vatheuer, C. Carolyn
Vehlen, Antonia
von Dawans, Bernadette
Domes, Gregor
Abstract / Description
Dataset for: Vatheuer, C.C., Vehlen, A., von Dawans, B., & Domes, G. (2021). Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST. Journal of Neural Transmission, 128, 1269–1278 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02344-w
Background. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a reliable tool for psychobiological stress induction. Because of its socio-evaluative nature, it has been useful for investigating gaze behavior. It has been shown that healthy people avoid looking toward faces when under stress, a finding that corroborates studies demonstrating avoidance of eye contact in social anxiety disorder. Yet, little is known about the relationship between gaze behavior and the biological stress response.
Methods. In a final sample of 74 healthy males, a virtual reality version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) with an integrated eye tracker was implemented to investigate gaze behavior during acute stress induction. Stress response measures were collected via saliva samples and subjective stress ratings. Additional questionnaires were administered for examining the influence of social anxiety traits.
Results. The TSST-VR elicited a significant psychobiological stress response. Overall, higher gaze times on judges compared to surroundings were found in the speech task while this pattern was reversed in the arithmetic task. Critically, there was a significant negative association between gaze time on judges and cortisol output in cortisol responders.
Conclusions. In a non-clinical sample, avoidance of gaze is associated with a stronger cortisol response to acute stress. This study demonstrates the potential of eye tracking to disentangle the effects of acute stress on social interaction, warranting further investigation in clinical populations characterized by high levels of anxiety in social situations, such as social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.
Keyword(s)
Stress Cortisol Hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis Social perception Eye tracking Virtual reality Trier Social Stress TestPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-04-24
Publisher
PsychArchives
Is referenced by
Citation
Vatheuer, C. C., Vehlen, A., Von Dawans, B., & Domes, G. (2021). Dataset for: Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST [Data set]. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4782
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Data_Vatheuer_Gaze-and-acute-stress_JNT.csvCSV - 11.85KBMD5: ef45f37c0506afa3e02215c5823b571f
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Codebook_Vatheuer_Gaze-and-acute-stress_JNT.csvCSV - 1.56KBMD5: 53941df9ea9779ba35c6e835f9f7ae9a
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Vatheuer, C. Carolyn
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Vehlen, Antonia
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Author(s) / Creator(s)von Dawans, Bernadette
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Domes, Gregor
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2021-04-24T11:51:33Z
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Made available on2021-04-24T11:51:33Z
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Date of first publication2021-04-24
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Abstract / DescriptionDataset for: Vatheuer, C.C., Vehlen, A., von Dawans, B., & Domes, G. (2021). Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST. Journal of Neural Transmission, 128, 1269–1278 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02344-wen
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Abstract / DescriptionBackground. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a reliable tool for psychobiological stress induction. Because of its socio-evaluative nature, it has been useful for investigating gaze behavior. It has been shown that healthy people avoid looking toward faces when under stress, a finding that corroborates studies demonstrating avoidance of eye contact in social anxiety disorder. Yet, little is known about the relationship between gaze behavior and the biological stress response. Methods. In a final sample of 74 healthy males, a virtual reality version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR) with an integrated eye tracker was implemented to investigate gaze behavior during acute stress induction. Stress response measures were collected via saliva samples and subjective stress ratings. Additional questionnaires were administered for examining the influence of social anxiety traits. Results. The TSST-VR elicited a significant psychobiological stress response. Overall, higher gaze times on judges compared to surroundings were found in the speech task while this pattern was reversed in the arithmetic task. Critically, there was a significant negative association between gaze time on judges and cortisol output in cortisol responders. Conclusions. In a non-clinical sample, avoidance of gaze is associated with a stronger cortisol response to acute stress. This study demonstrates the potential of eye tracking to disentangle the effects of acute stress on social interaction, warranting further investigation in clinical populations characterized by high levels of anxiety in social situations, such as social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.en
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Review statusunknownen
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SponsorshipThe study was supported in part by grants from the German Research Foundation (DO1312/5-1) and the University of Trier Research Priority Program “Psychobiology of Stress” (G.D.), funded by the State Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.en
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CitationVatheuer, C. C., Vehlen, A., Von Dawans, B., & Domes, G. (2021). Dataset for: Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSST [Data set]. PsychArchives. https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.4782en
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/4221
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4782
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychArchivesen
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Is referenced byhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02344-w
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-021-02344-w
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Keyword(s)Stressen
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Keyword(s)Cortisolen
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Keyword(s)Hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axisen
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Keyword(s)Social perceptionen
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Keyword(s)Eye trackingen
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Keyword(s)Virtual realityen
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Keyword(s)Trier Social Stress Testen
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleDataset for: Gaze behavior is associated with the cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in the virtual TSSTen
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DRO typeresearchDataen