Tend and befriend
Encyclopedia
Tend and befriend is a behavior
exhibited by some animal
s, including human
s, when under threat
. It refers to protection of offspring
(tending) and seeking out the social group for mutual defense (befriending). The tend-and-befriend idea was originally developed by Dr. Shelley E. Taylor and her research team at the University of California, Los Angeles.
. From the standpoint of human beings, however, this analysis of stress responses is incomplete. Another tendency is to affiliate, that is, to come together in groups in threatening times. This tend and befriend response refers to the fact that people often manage threats by caring for offspring and seeking social support in time of stress.
Oxytocin
has been tied to a broad array of social relationships and activities, including peer bonding, sexual activity, and affiliative preferences. Oxytocin is released in humans in response to at least some stressors, especially those that may trigger affiliative needs. Oxytocin prompts affiliative behavior, including maternal tending and social contact with peers. Thus affiliation under stress serves tending needs, including protective response towards offspring, and may also take the form of befriending, namely seeking social contact for one's own protection, the protection of offspring, and the protection of the social group. These social responses to threat reduce biological stress responses, including elevated heart rate, blood pressures
, and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis stress responses, such as cortisol
.
Likewise "befriending" leads to substantial mental and physical health benefits in times of stress. Social isolation
is tied to a significantly enhanced risk of mortality, whereas social support is tied to a broad array of beneficial health outcomes, including reduced risk of illness and death.
enhances the effects of oxytocin
which, as noted, is believed to be an important biological underpinning of tend and befriend.
There are evolutionary bases for believing that female responses to stress may be better characterized by tend and befriend than those of males as well. In early human history when the human stress response evolved, work was largely sex segregated, with women responsible for child care. Accordingly, selection pressures for responses to threat that benefit both self and offspring would have been greater for females than for males, favoring social responses to threat in women. Research shows that women are, in fact, more likely to seek the company of others in times of stress, compared to men.
Male behavior under stress may be better characterized by the fight or flight response. Although both men and women show the biological fight or flight pattern of arousal (e.g., elevated heart rate and blood pressure), men's behavior under stress is better characterized by fight (aggression) and by flight (social withdrawal, substance abuse) in response to stress.
Women have higher life expectancies from birth in most countries where there is equal access to medical care. In the United States, for example, this difference is almost 6 years. It has been hypothesized that one reason may be that men's responses to stress (which include aggression, social withdrawal, and substance abuse) place them at risk for adverse health-related consequences, whereas women's more social responses to stress are healthier behaviors. Whether these gender differences in responsivity to stress help to explain the gender gap in mortality is not yet known (other possible factors abound, such as estrogen stimulating the immune system while testosterone suppresses it, or the evolutionary pressure to withstand the stresses of near-constant pregnancy in pre-modern cultures leaving modern women with generally untapped reserves).
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
exhibited by some animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, including human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s, when under threat
Threat
Threat of force in public international law is a situation between states described by British lawyer Ian Brownlie as:The 1969 Vienna convention on the Law of Treaties notes in its preamble that both the threat and the use of force are prohibited...
. It refers to protection of offspring
Offspring
In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
(tending) and seeking out the social group for mutual defense (befriending). The tend-and-befriend idea was originally developed by Dr. Shelley E. Taylor and her research team at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Fight or flight versus tend and befriend
The dominant model of the human responses to stress has been the fight or flight response. In response to threat, humans (and other animals) can become aggressive and confront a stressor (fight) or flee either literally or through avoidant coping, such as social withdrawal or substance abuseSubstance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
. From the standpoint of human beings, however, this analysis of stress responses is incomplete. Another tendency is to affiliate, that is, to come together in groups in threatening times. This tend and befriend response refers to the fact that people often manage threats by caring for offspring and seeking social support in time of stress.
Biological bases of tend and befriend
Many scientists now believe that there is an affiliative neurocircuitry that prompts affiliation especially in response to stress. Research suggests that this system regulates social approach behavior, much as hunger, thirst, or sexual drives are biologically regulated. A biological basis for this regulation appears to be oxytocin.Oxytocin
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that acts primarily as a neuromodulator in the brain.Oxytocin is best known for its roles in sexual reproduction, in particular during and after childbirth...
has been tied to a broad array of social relationships and activities, including peer bonding, sexual activity, and affiliative preferences. Oxytocin is released in humans in response to at least some stressors, especially those that may trigger affiliative needs. Oxytocin prompts affiliative behavior, including maternal tending and social contact with peers. Thus affiliation under stress serves tending needs, including protective response towards offspring, and may also take the form of befriending, namely seeking social contact for one's own protection, the protection of offspring, and the protection of the social group. These social responses to threat reduce biological stress responses, including elevated heart rate, blood pressures
Blood Pressures
Blood Pressures is the fourth studio album by indie rock band The Kills. It was released on April 1, 2011 in the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Nordic Countries and Austria, in the UK on April 4, 2011, and in the United States on April 5, 2011....
, and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis stress responses, such as cortisol
Cortisol
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, more specifically a glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat,...
.
Benefits of affiliation under stress
Why would humans and some animals have a biologically-regulated affiliative system? Looking at affiliation from the standpoint of evolutionary theory makes it clear that there would be clear survival benefits of affiliative response to threat. Tending activities also reduce biological stress responses in both parents and offspring, thereby reducing stress-related threats to their health.Likewise "befriending" leads to substantial mental and physical health benefits in times of stress. Social isolation
Social isolation
Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with society for members of social species. There may be many causes and individuals in numerous generally social species are isolated at times, it need not be a pathological condition. In human society, in those cases where it is viewed as a pathology,...
is tied to a significantly enhanced risk of mortality, whereas social support is tied to a broad array of beneficial health outcomes, including reduced risk of illness and death.
Gender differences in tend and befriend
Tend and befriend has been heavily studied in females. One reason for this fact is that estrogenEstrogen
Estrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...
enhances the effects of oxytocin
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that acts primarily as a neuromodulator in the brain.Oxytocin is best known for its roles in sexual reproduction, in particular during and after childbirth...
which, as noted, is believed to be an important biological underpinning of tend and befriend.
There are evolutionary bases for believing that female responses to stress may be better characterized by tend and befriend than those of males as well. In early human history when the human stress response evolved, work was largely sex segregated, with women responsible for child care. Accordingly, selection pressures for responses to threat that benefit both self and offspring would have been greater for females than for males, favoring social responses to threat in women. Research shows that women are, in fact, more likely to seek the company of others in times of stress, compared to men.
Male behavior under stress may be better characterized by the fight or flight response. Although both men and women show the biological fight or flight pattern of arousal (e.g., elevated heart rate and blood pressure), men's behavior under stress is better characterized by fight (aggression) and by flight (social withdrawal, substance abuse) in response to stress.
Women have higher life expectancies from birth in most countries where there is equal access to medical care. In the United States, for example, this difference is almost 6 years. It has been hypothesized that one reason may be that men's responses to stress (which include aggression, social withdrawal, and substance abuse) place them at risk for adverse health-related consequences, whereas women's more social responses to stress are healthier behaviors. Whether these gender differences in responsivity to stress help to explain the gender gap in mortality is not yet known (other possible factors abound, such as estrogen stimulating the immune system while testosterone suppresses it, or the evolutionary pressure to withstand the stresses of near-constant pregnancy in pre-modern cultures leaving modern women with generally untapped reserves).
Further reading
- Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R.M. (2005). Social Psychology. (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
- Friedman, H.S., & Silver, R.C. (Eds.) (2007). Foundations of Health Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Gurung, R.A.R. (2006). Health Psychology: A Cultural Approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
External links
- "Tend and Befriend", Nancy K. Dess, Psychology TodayPsychology TodayPsychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...