title: The fear-factor stress test: an ethical, non-invasive laboratory method that produces consistent and sustained cortisol responding in men and women.
abstract: We describe a method to administer a controlled, effective stressor to humans in the laboratory. The method combines the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and the Cold Pressor Test into a single, believable procedure called the Fear-Factor Stress Test (FFST). In the procedure, participants imagine auditioning for the reality television show Fear Factor. They stand before a video recorder and a panel of judges while (a) delivering a motivational speech, (b) performing a verbal arithmetic task, and (c) placing one hand into a bucket of ice water for up to 2 min. We measured subjective anxiety, heart rate, and salivary cortisol in three groups of young adults (n = 30 each, equal numbers of men and women): FFST, TSST, and Control (a placebo version of the FFST). Although the FFST and TSST groups were not distinguishable at the cortisol measure taken 5 min post-manipulation, at 35 min postmanipulation average cortisol levels in the TSST group had returned to baseline, whereas those in the FFST group continued to rise. The proportion of individual cortisol responders (≥ 2 nmol/l increase over baseline) in the TSST and FFST groups did not differ at the 5-min measure, but at the 35-min measure the FFST group contained significantly more responders. The findings indicate that the FFST induces a more robust and sustained cortisol response (which we assume is a marker of an HPA-axis response) than the TSST, and that it does so without increasing participant discomfort or incurring appreciably greater resource and time costs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, ACSENT Laboratory, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, christopherdu.plooy@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: du Plooy
authors.forename: Kevin G F
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Human
authors.forename: W Jake
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Jacobs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D033281:Nontherapeutic Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone