A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that social evaluative stressors elicit increases in self-conscious emotions and cortisol, and that these physiological changes may hinge on the experience of a self-conscious state (e.g., shame). The proposed research extends previous theory and research in several important ways. Study 1 will experimentally test the specificity of the self-conscious emotion/cortisol association by priming specific emotions (self-conscious emotion and comparison negative emotions) prior to a social-evaluative stressor task. In Study 2, responses to social-evaluative stressors will be assessed both inside and outside of the laboratory (using a standardized social-evaluative stressor in the lab and daily dairy methodology in the field). This will test whether naturally-occurring social-evaluative, rejecting situations elicit self-conscious emotional and cortisol responses (mirroring the laboratory findings). Taken together, the studies will enable us to better understand the specific social contexts capable of eliciting cortisol reactivity (in naturally-occurring situations and in the laboratory), and further elucidate the emotional underpinnings of these physiological changes. Importantly, because consistent, chronic activation of the cortisol system is thought to lead to negative effects on health, repeated activation of the cortisol system ? as may be experienced under chronic social-evaluative threat ? could leave individuals vulnerable to these detrimental health outcomes. It may be that individuals who appraise their social world as rejecting or are particularly sensitive to social rejection could be especially likely to show these negative health effects. Those who experience chronic social-evaluative threat could also demonstrate these health vulnerabilities. The proposed research is important and will highlight important factors (e.g., social-evaluative threat), emotions (e.g., shame and related states), and individuals (i.e., those chronically experiencing social-evaluative situations) to target when designing interventions for stress-related disease.
