The Stroop Competition: A Social-Evaluative Stroop Test for Acute Stress Induction

Müller V, Richer R, Henrich L, Berger L, Gelardi A, Jäger K, Eskofier B, Rohleder N (2022)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2022

Original Authors: Victoria Mueller, Robert Richer, Lea Henrich, Leonie Berger, Antonia Gelardi, Katharina M. Jaeger, Bjoern M. Eskofier, Nicolas Rohleder

Series: IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI)

Book Volume: 2022 IEEE

Event location: Ioannina GR

URI: https://www.mad.tf.fau.de/files/2022/11/mueller22_stroop_competition.pdf

DOI: 10.1109/BHI56158.2022.9926835

Abstract

The Stroop test is one of the most widely used protocols to induce cognitive stress and reliably activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). However, it only moderately activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the stress axis responsible for cortisol secretion. In other well-known stress protocols, such as the cold pressor test, adding social-evaluative elements to the regular procedure has proven to cause increased HPA axis activation. For this reason, we introduce the “Stroop Competition”, a novel stress protocol based on the established Stroop test that adds social-evaluative feedback by conducting the test against a fake opponent with subsequent performance evaluation. We investigated the stress response of 22 participants performing either the “Stroop Competition” (Competition group) or the regular Stroop test (Control group) three consecutive times. Stress responses were assessed using ECG recordings to extract heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and saliva samples to extract salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and cortisol. In the Competition group, participants experienced higher SNS activation indicated by significantly higher HR and lower HRV levels as well as higher sAA response to the stressor compared to the Control group. Additionally, overall cortisol levels were significantly higher in the Competition group supporting higher HPA axis activity. The findings of our pilot study confirm our hypothesis that adding social-evaluative elements to the Stroop test causes a more effective activation of both the SNS and HPA axis. We are convinced that our novel “Stroop Competition” protocol will provide a valuable addition to the already existing stress protocols in biopsychological research.

Authors with CRIS profile

Victoria Müller Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab Robert Richer Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab Katharina Jäger Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab Björn Eskofier Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab Nicolas Rohleder Lehrstuhl für Gesundheitspsychologie

Additional Organisation(s)

Sonderforschungsbereich 1483/1 Empathokinästhetische Sensorik – Sensortechniken und Datenanalyseverfahren zur empathokinästhetischen Modellbildung und Zustandsbestimmung (EmpkinS)

Related research project(s)

Berührungslose Messung von Stress, seiner Determinanten und Konsequenzen (SFB 1483 EmpkinS D03) Empatho-Kinaesthetic Sensor Technology (SFB 1483 EmpkinS) July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2025 Empatho-Kinaesthetic Sensor Technology (SFB 1483 EmpkinS) July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2025 Novel Methods for Remote Acute Stress Induction Sept. 1, 2021 - Sept. 1, 2024

How to cite

APA:

Müller, V., Richer, R., Henrich, L., Berger, L., Gelardi, A., Jäger, K.,... Rohleder, N. (2022). The Stroop Competition: A Social-Evaluative Stroop Test for Acute Stress Induction. In 2022 IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI) (Eds.), Proceedings of the IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI). Ioannina, GR.

MLA:

Müller, Victoria, et al. "The Stroop Competition: A Social-Evaluative Stroop Test for Acute Stress Induction." Proceedings of the IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI), Ioannina Ed. 2022 IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI), 2022.

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