'Two is Better than One': Stress and Similar Emotional Reactions

You know that old saying? "Two heads are better than one." Well, a recent study shows that for individuals who are a bit too stressed out, the same phrase can apply. (Minus the 'heads' part, of course.)

Researchers found that sharing stressful feelings with someone who was experiencing a similar scenario could help ease nervous reactions to potential problems.

"For instance, when you're putting together an important presentation or working on a high-stakes project, these are situations that can be threatening and you may experience heightened stress," said lead study author Sarah Townsend, assistant professor of management and organization at the USC Marshall School of Business, via a press release. "But talking with a colleague who shares your emotional state can help decrease this stress."

For the study, researchers examined 52 female undergraduate students who participated in a study on public speaking. The participants were paired up and asked to give a speech while being video-recorded. However, prior to this, pairs of participants were also encouraged to discuss their feelings about giving the speeches with each other. The stress hormone cortisol was then measured for each individual during and after their speeches.

The results "show that sharing a threatening situation with a person who is in a similar emotional state, in terms of her overall emotional profile, buffers individuals from experiencing the heightened levels of stress that typically accompany threat," according to the study.

"Imagine you are one of two people working on an important project: if you have a lot riding on this project, it is a potentially stressful situation," she added, via the release. "But having a coworker with a similar emotional profile can help reduce your experience of stress."

Townsend and colleagues said they hope to continue this research via examination of how developing emotional similarities can help those from different cultural backgrounds learn to function better in the classroom and/or the workplace.

More information regarding the study can be found via For "Are You Feeling What I'm Feeling? Emotional Similarity Buffers Stress," in Social Psychological and Personality Science.