Salivary Cortisol as a Biomarker in Social Science Research

Cortisol, a neuroendocrine hormone measurable in saliva, responds to internal and external triggers. In providing a peripheral ‘window on the brain’, it has been increasingly incorporated into social psychological studies. Cortisol secretion can be studied in two main ways, examination of acute stress reactivity and examination of the basal circadian patterns. These can inform aspects of acute and chronic stress exposure and relationships with health. Within non‐clinical populations, cortisol effects are largely driven by differences in the perception of threat. For social psychologists, this provides an interesting avenue for the investigation of social factors that mediate perceptions of threat, such as social support, relationship processes, and group dynamics in acute and chronic stress. This paper provides a background to understanding the regulation and function of cortisol, and issues arising in relation to its measurement in saliva. It discusses and makes recommendations on the use of appropriate cortisol measures in the study of both acute and chronic stress. Used and interpreted appropriately, stress reactivity and basal ambulatory measures of salivary cortisol can provide a valuable adjunct to self‐report and observation in social psychological research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Long-term knowledge effects on serial recall of nonwords are not exclusively lexical

S. Roodenrys and M. Hinton (2002) reported superior recall for nonwords with large rather than small lexical neighborhoods when constituent biphone frequency was controlled, but comparable recall of high and low biphone frequency nonwords when neighborhood size was controlled, suggesting that long-term knowledge effects on nonword recall are lexically based. We report two experiments in which the same manipulations were made, but with neighborhood size controlled at the level of neighbor type. In Experiment 1, biphone frequency significantly influenced nonword recall when neighborhood size was controlled in this way. In Experiment 2, neighborhood size significantly influenced nonword recall when biphone frequency was controlled. These findings suggest that long-term knowledge contributions to nonword recall are not exclusively lexical but are based instead on both lexical and phonotactic knowledge of a language.     

Sexual misconduct in psychotherapy: reactions to a consumer-oriented brochure

Reactions of subjects to a brochure addressing the topic of sexual intimacy in psychotherapy was assessed. Fifty-four psychotherapy clients and 52 licensed psychologists responded favorably to the brochure, with the majority indicating that the brochure should be made available before therapy begins or during the first session. Potential clients (120 college students) read either the brochure on sexual misconduct or a control brochure containing general information about psychology. Subjects who read the sexual misconduct brochure showed increased ability to understand what is appropriate and inappropriate therapist behavior, see unwanted touch as nontherapeutic, regard a therapist talking a lot about his or her own sex life as inappropriate, view sex in the therapeutic relationship as inappropriate, and intend to behave assertively within the session if their therapist's behavior should make them feel uncomfortable. Subjects who read the control brochure showed no such changes.     

Meta-analyses and systematic reviews of psychological treatments for chronic pain: relevance to an evidence-based practice.

As evidence-based practitioners become more reliant on systematic reviews to inform treatment, it becomes important to systematize reporting details as well as improve the quality of the primary studies that will later be incorporated into this secondary literature. In this article, the authors consider several specific factors that can serve this function in the area of chronic pain: (a) adhering to a standardized set of reporting standards; (b) measuring a standardized set of short- and long-term outcome variables; (c) providing information about individual differences; and (d) providing detailed, easily accessible documentation of the treatment program (or progams). The article also highlights ways that practitioners and researchers can collaborate on treatment outcome research, thereby improving the ability to discover and disseminate effective treatments for patients who suffer from chronic pain.     

An “open-transformed scale” for correcting ceiling effects and enhancing retest reliability: The example of pain

The use of closed scales (with anchors at each end) to measure pain was found to produce ceiling effects characterized by a deceleration of ratings toward the upper end of the scale. This was consistent with previous research. Apart from producing nonlinear functions, the closed scale also limited test-retest reliability because of subjects’ tendencies to correct their distorted ratings in subsequent trials. However, an open-ended scale coupled with transformation of reported ratings into a decile scale virtually eliminated the ceiling effect, thus producing consistently linear functions and maximizing test-retest reliability. This finding may have implications for the measurement of other sensory and psychological phenomena, especially those in which the property evaluated varies in a continuous fashion.     

Redintegration and the benefits of long-term knowledge in verbal short-term memory: an evaluation of Schweickert's (1993) multinomial processing tree model

The impact of four long-term knowledge variables on serial recall accuracy was investigated. Serial recall was tested for high and low frequency words and high and low phonotactic frequency nonwords in 2 groups: monolingual English speakers and French-English bilinguals. For both groups the recall advantage for words over nonwords reflected more fully correct recalls with fewer recall attempts that consisted of fragments of the target memory items (one or two of the three target phonemes recalled correctly); completely incorrect recalls were equivalent for the 2 list types. However, word frequency (for both groups), nonword phonotactic frequency (for the monolingual group), and language familiarity all influenced the proportions of completely incorrect recalls that were made. These results are not consistent with the view that long-term knowledge influences on immediate recall accuracy can be exclusively attributed to a redintegration process of the type specified in multinomial processing tree model of immediate recall. The finding of a differential influence on completely incorrect recalls of these four long-term knowledge variables suggests instead that the beneficial effects of long-term knowledge on short-term recall accuracy are mediated by more than one mechanism.     

The awakening cortisol response: methodological issues and significance

The awakening cortisol response (ACR) is a discrete and distinctive part of the cortisol circadian cycle. In healthy adults salivary free cortisol concentrations increase by between 50 and 160% in the first 30 min immediately post-awakening (approximate average increase of 9 nmol/l, range 4-15 nmol/l, estimated to be equivalent to about three secretory episodes). However there are no agreed norms for the absolute concentrations of free cortisol in saliva either immediately post-awakening (range of 4.7-18.5 nmol/l) or 30 min post-awakening (range of 8.6-21.9 nmol/l). This review explores reasons for these discrepancies in normative data including confounding factors such as gender, age, awakening time, light and participant adherence. Although the physiological role of the ACR has not been clearly defined evidence is discussed that suggests it is under a distinct regulatory influence, different from the rest of the diurnal cortisol secretory cycle. Despite the difficulties associated with its measurement a range of studies have demonstrated an association between the ACR and psychosocial variables, stress and health. However it remains unclear whether positive affect and good health are consistently associated with larger or smaller awakening responses. It is early days in the search for the role and significance of the ACR. Its putative role in the regulation of physiological function across the day (e.g. the immune system) and its sensitivity to psychosocial variables make it a prime candidate as an intermediary linking mind and health.