Our recent study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology examined how acute stress influences empathy using a new online stress test, the TSST-OL. This remote version of the Trier Social Stress Test was administered to 120 participants in either a lab or home setting to measure their physiological and psychological responses to stress. Researchers tracked stress markers, including cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase, along with participants' self-reported stress levels.

The findings show that while the TSST-OL reliably induced stress in both environments, cortisol responses were higher in the lab, possibly reflecting added stress from being in a formal setting. Following stress induction, participants generally had more difficulty identifying and empathizing with positive emotions, though their response to negative emotions remained unaffected. These results suggest that the home-based version of the TSST-OL might reduce anticipatory stress, making it a practical option for studying stress responses outside the lab. By validating the TSST-OL, this study highlights the potential for using remote stress testing in future research to examine how stress affects social and emotional processing.

Heyers, K., Pfeifer, L. S., Merz, C. J., Stockhorst, U., Güntürkün, O., Wolf, O. T. & Ocklenburg, S. (2024). TSST-OL: Comparison between online and laboratory application and effects on empathy. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 171, 107211.