Is vicarious stress functionally adaptive? Perspective-taking modulates the effects of vicarious stress on future firsthand stress.

ABSTRACT: Mere observation of others experiencing stress is often sufficient to evoke stress vicariously, especially when people try to understand the situation from the viewpoint of others. Here, we tested whether and how the experience of vicarious stress, facilitated by perspective-taking, would influence individuals' affective and motivational reactions to an upcoming experience of firsthand stress-when they themselves encounter the same stressor in the future. Participants viewed a video clip of another participant undergoing a stressful task (a speech task), after being randomly assigned to take either a first-person perspective of the person (perspective-taking condition; n = 45) or maintain a detached, third-person, observer perspective (objective condition; n = 46). Subsequent

SUBMITTER: Park J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8630092 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature