The role of social processes and decision making in the psychobiological response to social stress

Resumen

Social interactions are common situations in the daily life of human´s. How human´s interpret this social contexts would imply a physiological, emotional and conductual acute response, leading sometimes to dire consequences. In this regard, sex, group formation and decision making are variables really important in the interpretation of this situations. Concretely, decision-making processes guide the behavior of people during this kind of interactions. Therefore, the interest of this thesis focuses on how humans interpret certain rather threatening social interactions and how decision-making intervenes in that interpretation. In the first place, emphasis will be placed on the study of some social factors, such as the confrontation with another group, and how these factors affect the physiological and psychological response to a conflict. Second, we will focus attention on decision making as a factor that could predict behavior or the physiological response to a social interaction. First study evaluate the physiological response to intergroup conflict, and the associated sex differences. Showing a physiological stress response after conflict and sex-differences in the testosterone response. Second study focused on decision making after a competitive social interaction based on the endocrine response after competition. Same hormonal changes, higher testosterone and cortisol predicts more risk taking in men and less risk taking in women. Third study evaluates how decision-making can be a factor that promotes an adaptive cardiovascular response to a competitive social interaction. Showing participants with better decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task a more adaptive cardiovascular response during competition. Fourth study consisted in a translation and validation of the General Decision Making Styles scale. Scale showed good psychometric properties, moreover showed invariance across sex and sex differences in the dependent scale. Finally, all the scales were related with personality and coping styles to stress, showing rational and intuitive scale relations with healthier coping styles, while avoidant, dependent and spontaneous showed relations with worse coping styles. Last study related the GDMS styles with resting heart rate variability. The intuitive style showed positive relations with HRV, in contrast, avoidant style showed negative relations. Then, groups, sex, and decision making are variables really important in the evaluation and adaptation to social interactions. Concretely, patterns of decision-making would be factors of vulnerability / resilience to the dire consequences of social interactions.