Hacking the stress system: the stress response as an adaptive trait that can work for or against
you
II - Social stress, reproduction and hierarchy

Stress and the social
´Stress in a social context is a double edged sword.
´
´Social connection buffers the negative effects of stress
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´Social connections can themselves be incredibly stressful
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A person in a suit Description automatically generated with low confidence
Hans Selye – The Granddaddy of stress science
´Stress as a physiological reaction to general unpleasantness. ´Seyle assumed that the negative
effects of stress are the result of stress hormones running out. This is not the case. Rather, at a
certain point we invest so much in the stress response that other processes become neglected.
´
Selye, H. (1936). A Syndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous agents. Nature.
Szabo, S. (2017). “Stress” is 80 Years Old: From Hans Selye Original Paper in 1936 to Recent
Advances in GI Ulceration. (December). https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612823666170622110046

Do you have support?
´Social grooming as a predictor of mental and physical health
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´Social support in post-traumatic stress disorder
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´Shared hardship
Olff, M., Koch, S. B. J., Nawijn, L., Frijling, J. L., Van, M., Veltman, D. J., … Veltman, D. J.
(2014). Social support , oxytocin , and PTSD Social support , oxytocin , and PTSD. 8198, 9–10.
https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v5.26513
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why zebras don’t get ulcers: A guide to stress, stress related diseases,
and coping. In Natural History. https://doi.org/10.1002/cir.3880060119

How love and oxytocin and buffer against stress (the acute “superman” neuromodulator)
´In-group investment
´Ethnocentrism
´Proactive coping
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´Post-traumatic stress disorder
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De Dreu, C. K. W., Greer, L. L., Handgraaf, M. J. J., Shalvi, S., Van Kleef, G. A., Baas, M., …
Feith, S. W. W. (2010). The neuropeptide oxytocin regulates parochial altruism in intergroup
conflict among humans. Science, 328(5984), 1408–1411. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189047
de Dreu, C. K. W., Shalvi, S., Greer, L. L., van Kleef, G. A., & Handgraaf, M. J. J. (2012).
Oxytocin Motivates Non-Cooperation in Intergroup Conflict to Protect Vulnerable In-Group Members.
PLoS ONE, 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046751
De Dreu, C. K. W., Greer, L. L., Van Kleef, G. A., Shalvi, S., & Handgraaf, M. J. J. (2011).
Oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(4),
1262–1266. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015316108
Nawijn, L., Zuiden, M. Van, Koch, S. B. J., Frijling, J. L., Veltman, D. J., & Olff, M. (2017).
Intranasal oxytocin increases neural responses to social reward in post-traumatic stress disorder.
(October 2016), 212–223. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw123

Example I: Chris Hickman. The fire fighter who lifted a car (2008)
https://www.firehouse.com/home/news/10502584/florida-firefighter-lifts-car-rescues-pinned-woman


Example II: Mjr. Robert Cane



The follower neuromodulator: β-endorphin
´µ-Opioid agonist
´Opiate drugs act upon this receptor
´Trauma in heroin addicts
´Opiate abuse among PTSD sufferers
´Morphine & PTSD susceptibility
´Social connection as a treatment option for PTSD
´µ-Opioid receptor / Galanin 1 receptor heteromers in the tail of the ventral tegmental area.
´Analgesia
´Passive coping
Serafini, R. A., & Zachariou, V. (2019). Opioid-galanin receptor heteromers differentiate the
dopaminergic effects of morphine and methadone. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 129(7),
2653–2654. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI128987
Ullrich, D., & Mac Gillavry, D. W. (2021). Mini-review : A possible role for galanin in
post-traumatic stress disorder. Neuroscience Letters, 756(May), 135980.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135980

How to increase β-endorphin
´Collective exercise and hardship
´Sports
´Struggle
´Collective rituals
´Uniforms & behaviours
´Religious ritual
´Unity with God
´Pain

Act out!!!!



Social hierarchy and the dynamics of acting out
´We mainly act out down the social hierarchy
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´In a stable social hierarchy, stress and its negative health outcomes accumulate at the bottom.
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´In an unstable social hierarchy, stress effects most members equally
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´Poverty, social strata and the meritocracy
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´Testosterone, competition and your place on the hierarchy
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Sherman, G. D., & Mehta, P. H. (2020). Stress , cortisol , and social hierarchy. Current Opinion in
Psychology, 33, 227–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.09.013
Bernal, D. R., Ho, K., Johanna, M., & Niki, A. (2022). Second ‑ class citizens ? Subjective social
status , acculturative stress , and immigrant well ‑ being. SN Social Sciences, 2(7), 1–18.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00371-2

Social stress: the dark side of social interaction
´Testosterone (in males)
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´Serotonin
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´Dopamine
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave! The biology of humans at our best and worst. In Penguin Press (1st
ed.). https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8357.00356

Stress, reproduction and social status
´Who leaves the pack
´
´Stress downregulates reproductive function
´Stress influences access to reproduction