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“Flexibility in responding to interpersonal conflict predicts cortisol and emotional reactivity” suggest that in an uncontrollable situation, individuals who use a smaller variety of verbal responses to stress may have more favorable outcomes than those who use a greater variety of responses. “Although being flexible in how you respond to different situations may be beneficial, continuously trying different ways to work out the same situation may lead to greater anger, frustration, and an unhealthier biological response,” Roubinov said.
“We categorized the verbal responses of participants during the task into seven types of negotiation strategies, including problem-solving and aggressive/threatening. Individuals who used a smaller set of strategies were considered less ‘flexible’ than those who used a greater variety of strategies,” Roubinov said.
The ASU team, which included Melissa Hagan, a doctoral student, and Linda Luecken, associate professor of psychology, also looked at the intensity of participants’ facial expressions of anger or frustration, and measured participants’ biological response to the task using cortisol, a stress hormone.
”Our results indicated that greater flexibility may not be the healthiest approach,” Roubinov said. “Unlike less-flexible participants, those who tried a greater variety of responses showed more intense facial expressions of anger and frustration. Cortisol levels in more flexible participants also reflected an unhealthier biological response to stress than the less flexible participants.”
