How to alleviate the agony of providing negative feedback: Emotion regulation strategies affect hormonal stress responses to a managerial task

Abstract

Providing negative feedback can be demanding, as it typically requires dealing with multiple negative emotions. The first aim of this study was to transfer this work-related task to a new laboratory protocol and to investigate short-term hormonal changes among feedback providers. The second aim was to test if such hormonal stress responses can be attenuated through a priori instructions on how to regulate emotions.Each of 150 participants (51% women) provided eight saliva samples before, during, and after anticipating and conducting a negative feedback conversation with a professional actor who displayed negative emotional reactions. Participants were divided into four conditions regarding the way they were instructed to regulate their emotions: expressive suppression (keeping a neutral expression); cognitive reappraisal (staying task-oriented and emotionally distanced); affect utilization (moving towards and using emotions); or control condition.By means of three-phase spline growth models, latent growth factors during baseline, stress response, and recovery were specified. Providing negative feedback was followed by significant temporary testosterone decreases as well as cortisol increases. Testosterone (but not cortisol) responses were attenuated when feedback providers had been instructed to either follow a cognitive reappraisal or affect utilization strategy.This study provides evidence that a typical managerial task, that is, having to provide negative feedback, is a testosterone- and cortisol-relevant experience. Down-regulation of an individual's emotional involvement through reappraisal, as well as the newly introduced technique of moving towards and making use of the interaction partner's emotions (affect utilization), revealed consequences in terms of attenuating the testosterone response to stress.