Inducing stress, experiencing stress: Reflections and recommendations for the Trier Social Stress Test

Developed by Clemens Kirschbaum and colleagues in 1993, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) remains one of the most powerful and widely used experimental paradigms for inducing psychosocial stress. In this article, written in honour of Clemens Kirschbaum, we compiled anecdotal reports on researchers’ experiences with the TSST. Fourty-six TSST researchers responded to our request, sharing insights into participant and panel member reactions, challenges in study implementation, and recommendations for the design of future stress induction studies. In sum, these accounts highlight that the TSST places a substantial burden not only on participants, but also, in a different way, on researchers serving as panel members. This observation raises intriguing questions for future research, such as whether imposing stress on others elicits a physiological stress response. Finally, for the readers’ amusement, the article recounts humorous anecdotes involving unusual participant performances and unexpected mishaps during experimental procedures.