And if you want to check out the paper: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

@kalenscher.bsky.social

We discussed how stress can bring us closer together, but also drive us apart. Our findings can be seen as a building block to understanding the neurobiological basis of polarization and conflict.

Yesterday I talked to David Cooper of The Last Show about our recent paper published in PNAS.
Listen here (starting around minute 51): open.spotify.com/episode/2tt9...

New blog post! I summarize our recent paper (www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...) how stress concurrently fosters ingroup support and outgroup competition, and what this has to do with societal polarization and conflict.
Us Versus Them | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...

“We hope this research sparks further studies that move beyond either-or models and ask when, how, and why stress brings out our more cooperative or competitive sides. […] In a world marked by rising division, it feels especially timely to understand how stress can both unite and divide us.”

Acute stress can enhance cooperation within groups while simultaneously increasing hostility toward outsiders, driven by distinct neurochemical pathways. doi.org/g9s8sw

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New paper in @pnas.org! How does stress affect our social decisions in conflict? More aggression (fight-or-flight)? Or more altruism (tend-and-befriend)? Our new study suggests: it’s not either/or, stress promotes both at once, depending on the neurochemical balance and the social context. 🧠