Luca Marie Lüpken

Dissociable glucocorticoid and noradrenergic effects on parochial cooperation and competition in intergroup conflict | PNAS Stress changes social behavior, yet its effects remain contradictory. Traditionally, stress was thought to trigger an antagonistic fight-or-flight ...

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.

Mom, Don't Meddle In My Love Life - July 31, 2025 The Last Show with David Cooper · Episode

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...

Us Versus Them Does stress make us more aggressive or more helpful? New research suggests it does both. This dual effect may drive growing societal polarization and the persistence of conflict.

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.”

How stress strengthens group bonds—and fuels intergroup conflict Why do violent conflicts between groups persist—even when all sides suffer as a result? Researchers from psychology and medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have now examined the dual effect of physiological stress messengers on social behavior in intergroup conflicts.

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. 🧠