Season 2 is here and we're focused on stress in context! In this episode, I chatted with Dr. Wendy Berry Mendes about the evolution of stress and emotion research and how these fields have grown together. We also talk about distinctions between stress and emotions, and how their differences lead to meaningful differences in measurement. We wrap up with a discussion around the importance of contextual factors (like culture or social status) in stress and emotion research and give examples of how context can affect the experience and expression of emotions.

Dr. Wendy Berry Mendes is the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology at Yale University, where she also leads the Emotion, Health and Psychophysiology lab. She's an international leader in social psychophysiology and has trained generations of students. She's a rigorous experimentalist, which has led to dozens of discoveries about the human social stress response. Her research on stress often goes beyond thinking about the individual to characterize how one person's stress impacts another person's emotions and physiology. Learn more about her research: https://www.wendyberrymendes.com/

Topics Discussed:

• Emotions, Emotion Regulation, Emotion Measurement
• Acute Stress, Chronic Stress, Good vs. Bad Stress
• Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System Responses
• Stress and Coping, Coping Styles, Coping Strategies
• Cognition and Emotion

Papers and Resources Discussed:

• Shenhav, A., & Mendes, W. B. (2014). Aiming for the stomach and hitting the heart: dissociable triggers and sources for disgust reactions. Emotion, 14(2), 301–309.
• Stress Measurement Network's Physiological Toolbox: https://www.stressmeasurement.org/physiological-measures
• Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3–4), 169–200.
• Ekman, P. (1989). The argument and evidence about universals in facial expressions of emotion. In H. Wagner & A. Manstead (Eds.), Handbook of social psychophysiology (pp. 143–164). John Wiley & Sons.

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The Stress Puzzle is hosted by Dr. Ryan L. Brown (https://www.ryanlinnbrown.com/) and supported by the UCSF Stress Measurement Network, an NIH/NIA funded network which aims to better understand the relationship between stress and health by improving the measurement of stress in research studies. Learn more about available resources to support stress research at: www.stressmeasurement.org.

Have burning questions about stress? Email us at stresspuzzlepod@gmail.com and we may feature your question in a future episode!

In honor of a new academic year, we wanted to share some advice and reflections from our Season 1 guests. This is a mix of clips with some that have been included in prior episodes and some that we've saved just for this episode. We wanted to have these reflections consolidated so it would be easy for you to share with trainees and early-career researchers, as well as anyone who may be thinking about pursuing interdisciplinary research.

Check back tomorrow for our new season of the podcast focused on stress in context.

Outline of Episode:

• 1:09: How have you handled mistakes in your career?
• 8:50: Non-traditional experiences and hobbies
• 12:03: Advice for current trainees
• 22:29: Reflections on collaborating
• 30:20: What do you see as the future of stress science?

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The Stress Puzzle is hosted by Dr. Ryan L. Brown (https://www.ryanlinnbrown.com/) and supported by the UCSF Stress Measurement Network, an NIH/NIA funded network which aims to better understand the relationship between stress and health by improving the measurement of stress in research studies. Learn more about available resources to support stress research at: www.stressmeasurement.org.

Have burning questions about stress? Email us at stresspuzzlepod@gmail.com and we may feature your question in a future episode!

For our final episode of Season 1, I spoke with Dr. Andrew Steptoe about social relationships as we age, the need for interdisciplinary research, and emerging biomarkers of interest to stress scientists. Dr. Steptoe is both a prolific and brilliant scientist whose work has identified psychobiological pathways linking low socioeconomic status with cardiovascular disease progression. I especially enjoyed hearing Dr. Steptoe reflect on research surrounding positive well-being and health, as well as the next steps for intervention science that we need to move forward as a field. Stay tuned for Season 2 of the Stress Puzzle this Fall!

Dr. Andrew Steptoe is a Professor of Psychology and Epidemiology at University College London. He was a founding editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology. He also directs the Psychobiology Research Group and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). He is one of the most impactful researchers in the field of health psychology as his work has identified crucial mechanisms through which social and psychological circumstances influence cardiovascular disease and aging. He was recently honored with the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine. Outside of the lab, Dr. Steptoe has written on the cultural background of Mozart operas and has contributed to research on Renaissance and 18th century history. Dr. Steptoe also coedited the second edition of A Matter of Life, which is a book about how his father (Patrick Steptoe) and Robert Edwards developed the procedure for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Topics Discussed:

• Psychobiology
• Social Status/Socioeconomic Status
• Population Studies/Cohort Studies
• Biomarkers
• Biological Processes/Biological Aging
• Psychoneuroimmunology
• Stress Measurement
• Social Connection

Papers Mentioned:

• ELSA (English Longitudinal Study of Aging): https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/
• Whitehall II: Marmot MG, Smith GD, Stansfeld S, Patel C, North F, Head J, White I, Brunner E, Feeney A. Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet. 1991 Jun 8;337(8754):1387-93. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-k. PMID: 1674771.
• Hamilton, O. S., Iob, E., Ajnakina, O., Kirkbride, J. B., & Steptoe, A. (2024). Immune-neuroendocrine patterning and response to stress. A latent profile analysis in the English longitudinal study of ageing. Brain, behavior, and immunity, 115, 600–608.

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The Stress Puzzle is hosted by Dr. Ryan L. Brown (https://www.ryanlinnbrown.com/) and supported by the UCSF Stress Measurement Network, an NIH/NIA funded network which aims to better understand the relationship between stress and health by improving the measurement of stress in research studies. Learn more about available resources to support stress research at: www.stressmeasurement.org.

Have burning questions about stress? Email us at stresspuzzlepod@gmail.com and we may feature your question in a future episode!