SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

At the University of Texas

Biological Processes in a Social World

Social behavior both dictates and reflects what is occurring in our bodies. A significant part of the UT Social Psychology training program is to learn more about the links between human relationships and hormonal, immunological, and autonomic activity. Some of the projects currently underway include:

Testosterone, dominance, and social behavior. Bob Josephs and his students are exploring how testosterone levels in college students is associated with cognitive abilities and conflicts regarding social status. Jamie Pennebaker's group is tracking how fluctuations in testosterone are associated with language which, in turn, reveals people's basic social motives.

Psychoneuroimmunology and health. Pennebaker and his colleagues are associated with several projects in Austin and in other labs around the world trying to learn more about the power of emotional disclosure and its effect on the immune system. Ongoing studies are exploring how the words people use in writing or in everyday speech can affect basic immunological and illness processes.

Blood pressure, cortisol, and the autonomic nervous system. When under stress, people generally evidence significant elevations in blood pressure, skin conductance, and cortisol levels. Bill Swann and his students, for example, find that social threats produce striking elevations in blood pressure. Jamie Pennebaker and his students are discovering that daily stressors as well as cultural upheavals (e.g., the September 11 terrorist attacks) have longterm effects on multiple biological measures. Further, writing about these upheavals reduces cortisol, blood pressure, and other stress measures. Jane Richards has found that when people try to hide their emotions, they show paradoxical increases in autonomic nervous system activity. That is, people who actively inhibit overt signs of their inner emotional states evidence greater electrodermal and cardiovascular responding than people who freely express their emotions.