(Description) Figure 9 Mean (+/− SEM) change in cortisol levels in potentially stressful situations. Values above 0.0 indicate a rise in cortisol levels. * denotes that the change is statistically significant. Key to terms: Passive tasks –tasks such as watching a film that do not require cognitive responses; Motivated performance – tasks such as delivering a speech or solving an arithmetical problem that require cognitive responses and achievement of a goal; Uncontrollability – a situation of ‘forced failure’ where participants have no chance of succeeding despite their best efforts, for example where too little time is given to complete a task; social evaluative threat – occurs when an aspect of self (such as ability) could be negatively judged by others.

Emotions and emotional disorders

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The figure is a vertical bar chart showing how cortisol levels change in response to different types of acute stressor. The vertical axis is labelled change in cortisol level; and is marked in arbitrary units from minus 0.4 to 1.2 at intervals of 0.2 units. The two control conditions, passive tasks and motivated performance, each produced a small reduction in cortisol level of around 0.1 units, while the three stressors produced statistically significant increases in cortisol levels, as follows: motivated performance with uncontrollability, 0.3 units; motivated performance with social-evaluative threat, 0.5 units; and motivated performance with social-evaluative threat and uncontrollability, 0.9 units.

2.8 Social competition, stress and subordination in humans