INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN STRESS
RESPONSES AMONG KINDERGARTENERS:BEHAVIOR AND CORTISOL ASSESSED IN SPEECH TASK
Open Access
Author:
Ford-Matz, Daley Marie
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Kristin Ann Buss, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Kristin Ann Buss, Thesis Supervisor David A. Rosenbaum, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
cortisol social inhibition shy shyness regulation
Abstract:
This study examined behavior in response to a speech task (a putative social stressor) and
how it related to cortisol levels in five-year-olds. Children were asked to participate in the birthday speech task, a paradigm during which they experienced a threat to their social self. It was expected that overall cortisol would increase in response to the stressor and that increases would be positively correlated with social inhibition and shyness. It was also predicted that timid children would use more regulating behaviors to control their distress. Overall there was no
significant increase in cortisol during the speech task. When participants were grouped by the
timidity of speech (an indicator of distress), however, there were differences in regulatory
behaviors and how these related to cortisol reactivity. Attention shifting (a regulatory behavior)was associated with a decrease in cortisol reactivity in timid children. It is possible that the use of this alienating social behavior (frequent attention shifting) could result in an unhealthy cycle of peer rejection and increased social withdrawal.
