Performing under Pressure; on the Biology, Psychology and Sociology of stress in high-performance
professions
IV - ON THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF STRESS

Social stress and the problem of inbreeding
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Who leaves the troop?
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A person in a suit Description automatically generated with low confidence
Hans Selye – The Granddaddy of stress science
uStress as a physiological reaction to general unpleasantness.
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uSeyle 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.
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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 an outlet?
uSports
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uSocial interaction
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uSocial care

Acting out



Social hierarchy and the dynamics of acting out
uWe mainly act out down the social hierarchy
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uIn a stable social hierarchy, stress and its negative health outcomes accumulate at the bottom.
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uIn an unstable social hierarchy, stress effects most members equally
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uPoverty, social strata and the meritocracy
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uTestosterone, 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

Ideal human group size and its effects on performance: Dunbar’s number
uThe human frontal cortex can comfortably retain information on +/- 150 individuals.
uOver a 150 individuals the group has to either
uSplit in two
uDevelop solutions to the emerging lack of social cohesion
uMoney
uFormal power structures
uSteps up from 2-5, 9-12, +/- 45, +/- 150.
uSports teams
uMilitary company
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Dunbar, R. (2010). How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Your position in society and stress levels
uVillage elder
uAge and authority
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uPower and wealth as a buffer against stress
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uTestosterone and position
uThe lower down the social ladder, the more supressed your testosterone levels will be.
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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

Social connection & stress modulation
uSocial connection has a strong effect on stress appraisal
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uΒ-endorphin
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uOxytocin
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β-endorphin
uµ-Opioid agonist
uOpiate drugs act upon this receptor
uTrauma in heroin addicts
uOpiate abuse among PTSD sufferers
uMorphine & PTSD susceptibility
uSocial connection as a treatment option for PTSD
uµ-Opioid receptor / Galanin 1 receptor heteromers in the tail of the ventral tegmental area.
uAnalgesia
uPassive 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
uCollective exercise and hardship
uSports
uStruggle
uCollective rituals
uUniforms & behaviours
uReligious ritual
uUnity with God
uPain
Harber, V. J., & Sutton, J. R. (1984). Endorphins and Exercise. Sports Medicine: An International
Journal of Applied Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 1(2), 154–171.
https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-198401020-00004
Lang, M., Bahna, V., Shaver, J. H., Reddish, P., & Xygalatas, D. (2017). Sync to link:
Endorphin-mediated synchrony effects on cooperation. Biological Psychology, 127(June), 191–197.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.06.001
Corder, G., Castro, D. C., Bruchas, M. R., & Scherrer, G. (2018). Endogenous and Exogenous Opioids
in Pain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 41(1), 453–473.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-080317-061522

Oxytocin
uModulates PTSD susceptibility and symptom severity
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uEnhances ethnocentric/in-group sentiment
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uProactive coping
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
van Zuiden, M., Frijling, J. L., Nawijn, L., Koch, S. B. J., Goslings, J. C., Luitse, J. S., …
Olff, M. (2017). Intranasal Oxytocin to Prevent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: A
Randomized Controlled Trial in Emergency Department Patients. Biological Psychiatry, 81(12),
1030–1040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.11.012

What does this mean for peak performance?
uIn-group cohesion
uEndorphin & oxytocin
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uAnalgesia and resilience
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uCompetition vs teamwork
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