TITLE:
Association of Chronic Stress with Agency, Theory of Mind Function and Abstract Construal in Women
AUTHORS:
Desmond D. Mascarenhas
KEYWORDS:
Chronic Stress, eSAIL, Innovation, Theory-of-Mind, Abstract Construal
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.7 No.12,
November
3,
2016
ABSTRACT: Stress
disrupts the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) networks required for
consciousness, abstract construal, self-referential thinking, reward circuitry
and theory-of-mind functions. We used stress assessment inventories to survey
a cohort of 113 women for self-reported stress over a 5 - 10-year period. We
identified two subsets of women consistently reporting either high (n = 21) or
low (n = 24) stress over this period. These cohorts answered the eSAIL, REM and
Apathy Evaluation Scale questionnaires. Significant differences were found
between cohorts in apathy and REM scores, as well as in RD, self-agency and
abstraction, but not in other subscales of the eSAIL.