Public self-consciousness moderates the link between displacement behaviour and experience of stress in women
When stressed, people typically show elevated rates of displacement behaviour - activities such as scratching and face touching that seem irrelevant to the ongoing situation. Growing evidence indicates that displacement behaviour may play a role in regulating stress levels, and thus may represent an...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
22 January 2013
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| In: |
Stress
Year: 2013, Volume: 16, Issue: 4, Pages: 384-392 |
| ISSN: | 1607-8888 |
| DOI: | 10.3109/10253890.2012.755171 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2012.755171
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| Author Notes: | Changiz Mohiyeddini, Stephanie Bauer, and Stuart Semple |
| Summary: | When stressed, people typically show elevated rates of displacement behaviour - activities such as scratching and face touching that seem irrelevant to the ongoing situation. Growing evidence indicates that displacement behaviour may play a role in regulating stress levels, and thus may represent an important component of the coping response. Recently, we found evidence that this stress-regulating effect of displacement behaviour is found in men but not in women. This sex difference may result from women's higher levels of public self-consciousness, which could inhibit expression of displacement behaviour due to the fear of projecting an inappropriate image. Here, we explored the link between public self-consciousness, displacement behaviour and stress among 62 healthy women (mean age = 26.59 years; SD = 3.61). We first assessed participants' public self-consciousness, and then quantified displacement behaviour, heart rate and cognitive performance during a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and used self-report questionnaires to assess the experience of stress afterwards. Public self-consciousness was negatively correlated with rate of displacement behaviour, and positively correlated with both the subjective experience of stress post-TSST and the number of mistakes in the cognitive task. Moderation analyses revealed that for women high in public self-consciousness, high levels of displacement behaviour were associated with higher reported levels of stress and poorer cognitive performance. For women low in public self-consciousness, stress levels and cognitive performance were unrelated to displacement behaviour. Our findings indicate that public self-consciousness is associated with both the expression of displacement behaviour and how such behaviour mediates responses to social stress. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 25.05.2021 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1607-8888 |
| DOI: | 10.3109/10253890.2012.755171 |