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Research

What research has actually found about people under pressure.

Who gets affected, what changes, what lingers, and what helps. Every finding comes with the people studied, the circumstances, and the method used.

Three things, kept apart on this page

  1. What’s established

    What published studies found, in the people and circumstances they studied. Each card says how strong that is: cause and effect, prediction, association or a pooled pattern.

  2. What’s ours

    What Calmistry hypothesises from those findings: the 13 measures and the material names. Marked as a Calmistry hypothesis wherever it appears, never as a finding.

  3. What isn’t validated yet

    Calmistry's own questions. Not yet tested on real respondents for consistency, retest stability or prediction. 8 planned papers · 6 collecting data now.

The findings

Each card is one finding from one or more published papers, checked against the original. Filter by moment or by situation.

20 findings · Show all findings

On every card: the finding is what the study established. The Calmistry line is our hypothesis. Calmistry's own questions have not yet been validated.

  1. People & context

    Meta-analysis moderators Pooled evidence

    Coping flexibility mattered more in less individualistic countries and older samples

    Among the samples in this meta-analysis, the link between coping flexibility and adjustment was stronger in countries lower in individualism and in samples with a higher average age, as found using moderator analysis across 329 effect sizes.

    Details
    Who was studied
    58,946 participants
    Observation window
    Studies published 1978 to 2013
    What was measured
    Country individualism and average age as moderators
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Reported effect: Individualism and age explained 10% and 13% of the variance

    Limits: A country-level average says nothing certain about any one person in that country.

    What it does not show: This establishes that the association varies by culture and age across samples, but not how any particular respondent in India or elsewhere will behave.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Makes measuring in India, where most Calmistry participants live, more informative. It does not tell us how Indian respondents will score.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/a0037913 · PMID 25222637

    Cheng, Lau & Chan (2014), Psychological Bulletin · Original publication

  2. People & context · Helping someone else

    Brain-scan experiment Cause and effect

    A trusted hand changed the brain's response to threat

    Among 16 married women facing the threat of an electric shock, holding their husband's hand reduced activity in threat-related brain systems broadly and a stranger's hand more narrowly, with larger reductions where marital quality was higher, as found using a within-person brain-scanning experiment.

    Details
    Who was studied
    16 married women
    Observation window
    One scanning session
    What was measured
    Brain activity under threat; marital quality
    What this establishes
    Cause and effect, in this setting

    Limits: Very small sample; women only; one kind of threat.

    What it does not show: This establishes that a partner's hand can change the brain's threat response in this setting, but not that any touch from anyone reduces stress for everyone.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Supports treating who is present as part of the situation. Calmistry measures how much of the room gets in, not how others calm you; that link is untested.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01832.x · PMID 17201784

    Coan, Schaefer & Davidson (2006), Psychological Science · Original publication

  3. People & context · Helping someone else

    Literature review Pooled evidence

    Support you can count on differs from simply knowing many people

    Across the studies reviewed, support that people saw as available and suited to the needs a stressful event created was associated with a buffering of stress effects, while being part of a large social network showed a general, direct association with well-being, as found using an integrative literature review.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Published studies of support and stress
    Observation window
    Not applicable
    What was measured
    Kinds of social support and well-being
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Limits: A narrative review, not a meta-analysis; the reviewed studies were mostly correlational.

    What it does not show: This establishes that how support is measured changes what is found, but not that more friends means less stress.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Support availability, fit and safety should not collapse into one 'has friends' variable.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310 · PMID 3901065

    Cohen & Wills (1985), Psychological Bulletin · Original publication

  4. People & context

    Systematic review Pooled evidence

    Feeling stressed and the body's stress response don't always line up

    Among studies that measured stress repeatedly in daily life, direct links between moments of stress and cortisol, blood pressure or heart rate appeared in only about half of those testing each measure, as found using a systematic review of 104 studies.

    Details
    Who was studied
    104 everyday-life studies
    Observation window
    Repeated same-day measurements
    What was measured
    Reported stress and concurrent cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Reported effect: cortisol 44% (11/25); systolic blood pressure 44% (8/18); diastolic blood pressure 53% (8/15); heart rate 53% (9/17) of studies testing each

    Limits: Methods varied across studies; sparse measurements can miss short responses.

    What it does not show: This establishes that reported stress and physiology are related but not interchangeable, but not that either one is the true measure.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Calmistry asks questions; it does not measure the body. A self-report profile should not be described as a physiological reading.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0271996 · PMID 35895674

    Weber, Angerer & Apolinário-Hagen (2022), PLoS ONE · Original publication

  5. Recovering · Uncertainty

    Cross-sectional Association

    Reframing helped with stress you can't change and went with more depression when you could

    Among 170 people with recent life stress, a greater ability to reframe emotions was associated with less depression when the stress was uncontrollable, but with more depression when it was controllable, as found using a cross-sectional person-by-situation analysis.

    Details
    Who was studied
    170 people with recent stress
    Observation window
    One time point
    What was measured
    Reappraisal ability, controllability of the stressor, depression
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Cross-sectional; an erratum was later published.

    What it does not show: This establishes that the same skill can go with better or worse outcomes depending on the situation, but not that reframing causes depression when a problem is solvable.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    A practice is not good or bad in itself. Calmistry hypothesis: recommendations should ask whether a situation can be changed before suggesting reframing.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1177/0956797613496434 · PMID 24145331

    Troy, Shallcross & Mauss (2013), Psychological Science · Original publication

  6. People & context

    Experience sampling Association

    A trait is a range of behaviour, not one fixed response

    Across three experience-sampling studies lasting 2 to 3 weeks, the typical person showed nearly all levels of every trait in everyday behaviour, while people's averages were almost perfectly stable, as found using repeated momentary reports.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Three everyday-life samples
    Observation window
    2 to 3 weeks
    What was measured
    Momentary trait-related behaviour
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Personality states, not stress responses specifically.

    What it does not show: This establishes that people vary a lot around a stable average, but not how much any one stress response varies.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Why a Calmistry material is a nearest reference, not a mould: a profile describes a tendency, and people move around it.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.1011 · PMID 11414368

    Fleeson (2001), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Original publication

  7. People & context · Relationship conflict

    Correlational studies Association

    People who habitually hide feelings still felt more negative emotion

    Across five studies, people who habitually suppressed emotional expression showed less positive emotion yet experienced more negative emotion and had worse interpersonal functioning, while habitual reframers showed the reverse, as found using questionnaires and peer reports.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Five samples
    Observation window
    Mostly one time point
    What was measured
    Habitual reappraisal and suppression, emotion, relationships, well-being
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Correlational, so habits and outcomes may influence each other.

    What it does not show: This establishes that habitual suppression goes with feeling worse, but not that holding stress quietly, as Absorb describes, is the same as suppression.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Absorb (stress goes in and is held) overlaps with suppression only partly. Separating thinking-it-through from hiding-it is a Calmistry hypothesis to test.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348 · PMID 12916575

    Gross & John (2003), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Original publication

  8. Recovering · Recovery

    Experience sampling Association

    Switching away from a strategy that isn't working helped low mood, not anxiety

    Among 158 US adults and 144 Chinese adults reporting four times a day for 21 days, keeping a strategy that worked was generally adaptive, while switching away from an ineffective one helped momentary depressed mood but not anxious mood, as found using experience sampling in two cultures.

    Details
    Who was studied
    158 US and 144 Chinese adults
    Observation window
    Four surveys a day for 21 days
    What was measured
    Regulation strategies, their effectiveness, momentary mood
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Effectiveness was judged by participants themselves.

    What it does not show: This establishes that the value of switching depends on the feeling involved, but not that switching is always better.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Adds 'did it work?' and 'which feeling?' to coping fit. A recommendation should be checked against whether it helped.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1038/s44220-024-00215-3

    Chen et al. (2024), Nature Mental Health · Original publication

  9. People & context · Relationship conflict

    Within-couple study Association

    Small wounds healed more slowly after a marital argument

    Among 42 married couples, small skin wounds healed more slowly after a conflict discussion than after a supportive one, and consistently hostile couples healed at 60% of the rate of low-hostile couples, as found using two 24-hour hospital visits with daily healing checks.

    Details
    Who was studied
    42 married couples
    Observation window
    Two 24-hour visits + healing checks
    What was measured
    Wound healing, inflammatory signalling, hostile behaviour
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Reported effect: hostile couples healed at 60% of the rate of low-hostile couples

    Limits: The order of visits was fixed, so time effects cannot be fully ruled out.

    What it does not show: This establishes that relationship conflict goes with slower physical repair, but not that one argument causes lasting harm.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Stress between people is not only a mood. Calmistry measures how much of the room gets in, not its effect on the body.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1001/archpsyc.62.12.1377 · PMID 16330726

    Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (2005), Archives of General Psychiatry · Original publication

  10. People & context

    Meta-analysis Pooled evidence

    Four or more childhood adversities went with higher odds of many later problems

    Across 37 studies with 253,719 participants, people reporting four or more adverse childhood experiences had higher odds of many later health problems than those reporting none, from weak associations for physical inactivity to the strongest for problematic drug use and violence, as found using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Details
    Who was studied
    253,719 participants
    Observation window
    Studies up to 2016
    What was measured
    Adverse childhood experiences and adult health
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Limits: Many outcomes varied widely across studies.

    What it does not show: This establishes dose-related associations across populations, but not any individual's future.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Context for Work hardening: heavy early adversity is not a toughening exercise.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30118-4 · PMID 29253477

    Hughes et al. (2017), The Lancet Public Health · Original publication

  11. Recovering

    Longitudinal study Prediction

    Some past adversity went with better adjustment than none or a lot

    Among a US national sample followed for several years, people reporting some lifetime adversity had lower distress, less impairment, fewer post-traumatic symptoms and higher life satisfaction than those with none or a lot, and were least affected by recent adverse events, as found using a multiyear longitudinal study.

    Details
    Who was studied
    US national sample
    Observation window
    Several years
    What was measured
    Lifetime adversity, distress, life satisfaction
    What this establishes
    Prediction, not causation

    Limits: Correlational; adversity counts were self-reported.

    What it does not show: This establishes a U-shaped association, but not that hardship should be prescribed as resilience training.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    The research nearest to Work hardening. Whether repeating the same manageable stressor toughens a particular person is untested.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/a0021344 · PMID 20939649

    Seery, Holman & Silver (2010), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Original publication

  12. People & context · Helping someone else

    Group experiment Cause and effect

    One person's mood rippled through a group

    Among 94 business students in 29 groups, a trained group member's displayed mood spread to the others, and positive contagion went with more cooperation, less conflict and better perceived performance, as found using a randomised laboratory group experiment.

    Details
    Who was studied
    94 students in 29 groups
    Observation window
    One session
    What was measured
    Group members' moods and group behaviour
    What this establishes
    Cause and effect, in this setting

    Limits: Contagion did not differ by how pleasant or energetic the displayed mood was.

    What it does not show: This establishes that moods can spread in a group, but not that some people are consistently more open to it.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Porosity (how much of the room gets in) assumes people differ in how much they take in. This study shows contagion happens; it did not measure who takes in more.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.2307/3094912

    Barsade (2002), Administrative Science Quarterly · Original publication

  13. People & context · Relationship conflict

    Repeated sampling Association

    Couples' stress hormones and bad moods moved together, most at home

    Among 30 married couples sampled 4 times a day for 3 days, partners' cortisol levels and negative moods rose and fell together, more strongly at home than during the workday and more weakly in more satisfied marriages, as found using repeated saliva samples and mood reports.

    Details
    Who was studied
    30 married couples
    Observation window
    4 times a day for 3 days
    What was measured
    Cortisol and mood in both partners
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Positive moods were not linked; for cortisol, satisfaction mattered for wives only.

    What it does not show: This establishes that partners' stress moves together, but not who passes it to whom.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Transmission is not the same as expression: a partner can be affected without much being said. Calmistry hypothesis to test in Pair Compare.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/a0016959 · PMID 20053034

    Saxbe & Repetti (2010), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Original publication

  14. People & context · Helping someone else

    Randomised experiment Cause and effect

    A mother's stress showed up in her baby's body

    Among mothers and their infants, when mothers were randomly assigned to a negatively evaluated stress task rather than a positive or no-evaluation task, the pair's physiological responses moved together more after reunion, increasingly over time, as found using a randomised laboratory experiment.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Mothers and infants
    Observation window
    One session
    What was measured
    Physiological responses of mother and infant
    What this establishes
    Cause and effect, in this setting

    Limits: Sample size and infant ages are not given in the abstract.

    What it does not show: This establishes that stress can pass between people without words, but not how this works in adult relationships.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Helping someone else can mean carrying their stress. Porosity is Calmistry's construct for that openness; it has not been tested against physiology.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1177/0956797613518352 · PMID 24482403

    Waters, West & Mendes (2014), Psychological Science · Original publication

  15. People & context

    Multi-rater study Association

    You know some of your traits best; friends know others better

    Among 165 participants rated by themselves, friends and strangers and checked against behaviour, the self was the best judge of neuroticism-related traits, friends of intellect-related traits, and all perspectives were equal for extraversion-related traits, as found using a multi-rater study.

    Details
    Who was studied
    165 participants
    Observation window
    One assessment period
    What was measured
    Self, friend and stranger ratings against behaviour
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: Students in one setting.

    What it does not show: This establishes that self and others see different things, but not which view of a stress response is better.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Why Pair Compare lets each person rate the other: some stress responses may be easier to see from outside. Untested for Calmistry's measures.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/a0017908 · PMID 20085401

    Vazire (2010), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Original publication

  16. People & context

    Scale validation Association

    The most used stress scale measures how stressful life feels, not how you respond

    Among 510 people in three samples (332 and 114 students, 64 adults quitting smoking), a 14-item scale of how stressful life is perceived to be showed good reliability and predicted outcomes better than life-event counts, as found using scale validation.

    Details
    Who was studied
    510 people in three samples
    Observation window
    Up to 6 weeks
    What was measured
    Perceived stress, symptoms, health-service use
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Reported effect: internal consistency alpha .84, .85, .86

    Limits: Measures appraisal of life overall, not response mechanics.

    What it does not show: This establishes a reliable measure of perceived stress, but not a measure of how a person's response unfolds.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Calmistry aims to describe response patterns, not stress level. Whether its readings add anything beyond scales like this is the test ahead.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.2307/2136404 · PMID 6668417

    Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein (1983), Journal of Health and Social Behavior · Original publication

  17. People & context

    Meta-analysis Pooled evidence

    Forced-choice tests were harder to game, when built carefully

    Across studies comparing forced-choice personality tests in low- and high-stakes conditions, overall score inflation was small, and scales resisted faking best when statements were balanced for desirability and scored normatively, as found using a meta-analysis.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Forced-choice test studies
    Observation window
    Pooled studies
    What was measured
    Score inflation under high stakes
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Reported effect: overall score inflation effect size 0.06

    Limits: Resistance depended on how the items were built and scored.

    What it does not show: This establishes that forced choice can resist faking, but not that any new forced-choice test is valid.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Why Calmistry uses rounds of four statements and balances them for desirability. It is evidence about the format, not about Calmistry's validity.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/apl0000414 · PMID 31070382

    Cao & Drasgow (2019), Journal of Applied Psychology · Original publication

  18. People & context

    Meta-analysis Pooled evidence

    Average personality keeps changing through adulthood

    Across 92 longitudinal samples, people on average increased in social dominance, conscientiousness and emotional stability, especially between ages 20 and 40, as found using a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

    Details
    Who was studied
    92 longitudinal samples
    Observation window
    Adolescence to old age
    What was measured
    Mean-level personality change
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Limits: Averages hide individual differences in change.

    What it does not show: This establishes that traits change on average across adulthood, but not how any one person will change.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Why a Calmistry result is dated and can be retaken: a current profile is not permanent.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.1 · PMID 16435954

    Roberts, Walton & Viechtbauer (2006), Psychological Bulletin · Original publication

  19. People & context

    Data comparison Association

    Group averages poorly described how individuals vary

    Across six repeated-measures data sets, variation within individuals was two to four times larger than variation within groups, as found using a comparison of group-level and person-level estimates.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Six data sets
    Observation window
    Repeated assessments
    What was measured
    Within-person and between-person variation
    What this establishes
    An association, not cause and effect

    Limits: A methodological comparison, not a substantive stress finding.

    What it does not show: This establishes that group findings may not describe individuals, but not that individual prediction is impossible.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Every finding on this page is about groups. Applying it to one person's profile is a further step Calmistry has to test.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1073/pnas.1711978115 · PMID 29915059

    Fisher, Medaglia & Jeronimus (2018), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Original publication

  20. People & context

    Review Pooled evidence

    Most psychology comes from a narrow slice of humanity

    Across the comparative evidence reviewed, broad claims about human psychology were routinely based on samples drawn entirely from Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic societies, which often differ from other populations, as found using a review.

    Details
    Who was studied
    Comparative studies
    Observation window
    Not applicable
    What was measured
    Where research samples come from, and cross-population differences
    What this establishes
    A pattern pooled across studies

    Limits: A review argument, not a stress study.

    What it does not show: This establishes that sampling is narrow, but not how stress findings differ in India.

    Relationship to Calmistry

    Most people taking part in Calmistry are in India. Which findings on this page hold there is an open question.

    Calmistry hypothesis · not yet tested in Calmistry's own instrument

    Related findings

    Checked against the original on 2026-10-08 · DOI 10.1017/S0140525X0999152X · PMID 20550733

    Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan (2010), Behavioral and Brain Sciences · Original publication

Explore by measure

Calmistry reads 13 measures. Some rest on research that measured the same thing; most rest on research about something next to it. Each one below says which, and names the bridge nobody has tested yet.

Bounces off Reflect (2)

What research has established: In experiments, taking another perspective or changing how a situation is read improved emotional outcomes more on average than redirecting attention, and the benefit of reframing depended on whether the situation could be changed.

The missing bridge: Whether someone reliably puts up a boundary before stress is taken in has not been measured as a trait of its own.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

Sinks in Absorb (3)

What research has established: Hiding outward emotion is a different process from changing the feeling: people who habitually suppress expression still feel more negative emotion, and accepting one's feelings predicts less negative emotion under stress.

The missing bridge: Holding stress inside and thinking it through is not the same thing as suppression. That difference has not been tested.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

Goes straight out Transmit (5)

What research has established: Disclosing emotional experiences has a small average benefit, and support that answers the need created by a stressful event can soften its effects.

The missing bridge: Whether putting stress straight into words or action resolves it, passes it on or amplifies it is not settled.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

How much of the room gets in Porosity (7)

What research has established: Moods spread within groups, couples' stress hormones move together, and a mother's stress can show up in her infant's physiology.

The missing bridge: Whether some people take in other people's moods more than others, across relationships and settings, is open.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

How much it takes to move you Stiffness (4)

What research has established: Difficulty tolerating uncertainty is linked with worry and anxiety, and the value of switching strategies depends on the feeling involved.

The missing bridge: Whether holding firmly to a plan means more resistance to stress, or just a different kind, has not been tested.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

When it starts to get serious Yield point (5)

What research has established: People differ in how strongly they react to the same daily stressors, reactivity matters more than exposure in explaining distress, and reactivity predicts later health.

The missing bridge: These studies measure how strong a reaction is, not the threshold at which it starts.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

How far you bend without breaking Ductility (3)

What research has established: Fitting the coping method to the situation goes with better adjustment than having many methods, and switching away from what isn't working helps some feelings.

The missing bridge: Whether strain that stays hidden until it comes out all at once predicts a sudden breakdown is untested.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

Whether pressure turns into action Piezo (4)

What research has established: Challenge-type demands go with better performance than obstacles while both are tiring, and reading arousal as useful can change the immediate response.

The missing bridge: Whether pressure reliably turns into useful output for particular people has not been measured as a stable trait.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

Whether repeats make you tougher Work hardening (3)

What research has established: Some lifetime adversity has been linked with better later adjustment than none or a lot, while many childhood adversities go with higher later risks.

The missing bridge: Whether repeating the same manageable stressor produces measurable adaptation in a given person is open.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

How repeats wear on you Fatigue (5)

What research has established: Reactions to small daily hassles predict later health, and stressors earlier in the day make the next one hit harder.

The missing bridge: Whether many individually manageable stressors add up to more than their sum has not been measured as a personal tendency.

About this measure

How slow, long pressure wears on you Creep (4)

What research has established: High-strain jobs predict modestly higher heart risk over years, and a flatter daily cortisol rhythm goes with poorer health.

The missing bridge: How months of sustained pressure change a person's response pattern over time has not been tracked.

No direct evidence yet: every link here is adjacent research or a Calmistry hypothesis.

About this measure

How long it stays Half-life (12)

What research has established: Emotions differ in how long they persist from moment to moment, and both stuck and swinging moods go with lower well-being.

The missing bridge: How quickly one person returns to baseline after a specific event has not been measured with a questionnaire.

About this measure

What’s left afterwards Residual stress (7)

What research has established: Negative emotion that lingers the day after a stressor predicts later health, and rumination both feeds and follows low mood.

The missing bridge: How much of the original response remains once the stressor has ended is rarely measured directly.

About this measure

Where findings pull apart

Studies that look at the same question and come out differently, or point to a cost the other leaves out. Read them side by side before trusting either alone.

Open questions, and what Calmistry is tackling

Existing research examines many pieces of stress response and adaptation. What remains to be shown is whether a compact, self-report profile adds reliable predictive value beyond existing validated measures, and whether practices matched to it beat sensible alternatives. Each row is a planned paper.

8 planned papers · 6 collecting data now

All 8 open questions, and what we are doing about each
GapWhat we are doingStatus
Findings are filed under different namesThe same moment is studied as cortisol, threat, neuroticism or inertia. Whether one profile that reads them together predicts more than existing measures has not been tested.Restricted landmark-citation count, below Thirteen measures from one set of questions, each in plain words first. Working on it now
Levels more often than patternsWidely used scales such as the Perceived Stress Scale score how stressful life feels. Diary studies do measure reactivity and lingering, but over days of repeated reports, not in one short questionnaire.Charles et al. 2013; Piazza et al. 2013 Check the questions hold together, give the same answer twice and work the same across groups. Working on it now
The load metaphor is untestedStress is often compared to load on a material. In our search we found no peer-reviewed test of that comparison as a measurement model.Our literature search; no source for the engineering model Test whether the 12 materials are real types or useful labels on a smooth range, and report either. Working on it now
Mostly one side of the storyMost stress measures ask only the person. Studies comparing self and other raters exist, but are rarely paired with stress-response measures.Self-report dominates the studies in this atlas In a pair compare, each person can rate the other in ten short lines. Never shown as a score. Working on it now
Long diaries exist; long profiles don'tDiary studies with 10-year follow-ups exist. What is missing is a compact profile like this one repeated over months, next to what was going on.Charles et al. 2013; Piazza et al. 2013 Two free self-checks, repeated over months, read next to what was going on. Next, once the data is in
Matching practices to patterns is untestedCoping flexibility is well studied: one meta-analysis pooled 329 effect sizes. Whether practices matched to a measured response pattern beat good generic advice has not been tested.Cheng, Lau & Chan 2014 A fair test of matched against unmatched practices, once the self-checks can measure change. Later
Who gets studiedMost samples come from a few Western, rich countries.Henrich et al. 2010 Most people taking part are in India, a group the stress literature mostly leaves out. Working on it now
Birth timing, tested carefullyEarlier large tests of birth dates and personality found no link. Birth timing as used in Vedic astrology has not been tested against measured stress patterns, with blank comparisons.Carlson 1985; Hartmann et al. 2006; Lu et al. 2020 Only with people who opt in after their result, checked against blank comparisons. Working on it now

Not ours

We don't measure the body (hormones, heart rhythm) or the body clock. Those fields stay on the map because a result uses their ideas, not their data.

Validation protocol

How we check ourselves

Two separate checks: one for every published finding that goes on this page, one for Calmistry’s own questions. Neither is finished, and both are written down so anyone can repeat them.

How a finding gets onto this page

  1. 01Search across fieldsConstruct terms and their synonyms from neighbouring fields, plus searches for nulls, failed replications and reanalyses.
  2. 02ScreenPeer-reviewed, an empirical result about stress, and a population, design and outcome we can state from the text we read.
  3. 03Verify against the originalAuthors, year, sample, design, window, effect sizes and the direction of every claim, checked on the DOI or PubMed record. A number seen only second-hand is not published.
  4. 04Label the strengthEach card says what kind of claim it is: cause and effect, prediction, association, a pooled pattern or a framework.

How Calmistry’s own questions get tested

  1. 01Do the questions hold together?Internal consistency for each of the 13 measures, with a floor set before the data comes in.
  2. 02Same answer twice?Retest stability: the same people, answering again later.
  3. 03Fair across groups?Whether a question works the same way for different groups of people.
  4. 04Anything beyond existing measures?Whether the profile predicts more than validated scales already do. If it doesn’t, we say so.
  5. 05Types or a smooth range?Whether the 12 materials are real groups or useful labels on a continuum. We report either.

How different disciplines connect

A deliberately restricted landmark-citation analysis. We took four landmark papers from each of seven fields that study stress, then counted later papers that cite at least one landmark from both sides of a pair.

The thinnest bridge in this count: personality and habit change. 13 papers cite both sets of landmarks, out of 26,040 that cite either.

The map, the caveats and how we counted

What this count can and can't say

It is a reproducible count about these particular references, not a measure of how integrated the fields are.

A study can test how personality shapes the effect of a practice without citing any of these eight landmarks, or connect the fields in different words. And citing a landmark from each side doesn't mean the findings were put together.

Measuring integration properly needs construct-based searches and studies that test how the constructs relate. That is on our list, not done.

Why the count still looks like islands

Each field measures a different slice of the same moment, in its own words: cortisol in physiology, threat in appraisal research, neuroticism in personality, inertia in emotion research, habit in behaviour change.

Papers cite papers that use their words, so each field builds on itself and the slices rarely get put back together.

Citation map of seven stress fields and birth timing Circles are fields, sized by how many papers cite their landmark studies. Lines join every pair, thicker where more papers cite both. The thickest line, between stress physiology and appraisal, still covers under 2 percent of their papers. 18,401 Stressphysiology 5,724 Appraisal andemotion 5,803 Personality 10,426 Resilienceand recovery 13,011 Coping andemotionregulation 20,250 Behaviourchange 5,247 Chronobiologyand time 228 Birth timing
Personality · Behaviour change Best-connected pair: Stress physiology · Appraisal and emotion (1.45%) Thicker line = more papers cite both fields. Bigger circle = more papers cite the field’s landmarks. Dashed: birth timing, a small island with a few large tests.
Every pair, counted
PairPapers citing bothShare of either
Stress physiology · Appraisal and emotion3451.45%
Resilience and recovery · Coping and emotion regulation2801.21%
Stress physiology · Coping and emotion regulation3581.15%
Appraisal and emotion · Coping and emotion regulation1921.04%
Stress physiology · Resilience and recovery2570.90%
Stress physiology · Chronobiology and time2080.89%
Personality · Coping and emotion regulation1320.71%
Appraisal and emotion · Resilience and recovery900.56%
Coping and emotion regulation · Behaviour change1430.43%
Coping and emotion regulation · Chronobiology and time650.36%
Personality · Chronobiology and time350.32%
Appraisal and emotion · Personality310.27%
Stress physiology · Personality530.22%
Resilience and recovery · Chronobiology and time330.21%
Appraisal and emotion · Chronobiology and time230.21%
Personality · Resilience and recovery330.20%
Resilience and recovery · Behaviour change300.10%
Appraisal and emotion · Behaviour change230.09%
Stress physiology · Behaviour change300.08%
Behaviour change · Chronobiology and time190.07%
Personality · Behaviour change130.05%
Chronobiology and time · Birth timing20.04%
Personality · Birth timing20.03%
Stress physiology · Birth timing00.00%
Appraisal and emotion · Birth timing00.00%
Resilience and recovery · Birth timing00.00%
Coping and emotion regulation · Birth timing00.00%
Behaviour change · Birth timing00.00%

How we counted: four landmark papers per field (three for birth timing), checked against OpenAlex on 7 October 2026. A paper counts for a pair if it cites at least one landmark from each side. Different landmarks would shift the numbers; the islands stay.

How the research works for you

We're running a fair test: does birth timing, as used in Vedic astrology, add anything to explaining how people handle stress, beyond what psychology already tells us? It would help us immensely if you shared your birth details and answered the full set of questions. Do them all at once, finish the rest in mini quizzes, or take them with friends and family in a Box. It's a research question, not a reading. We won't show you a chart or a prediction.

  • Your result stands on its own

    It comes from your answers, scored by the same fixed calculation for everyone. Nothing else goes in.

  • Joining is optional

    Share birth details only if you want to, once your full profile is finished. Saying no changes nothing.

  • What it is for

    To validate, or invalidate, our hypotheses, and to make what works accessible to far more people.

  • Delete anytime

    Your answers, and anything you chose to share, from the Me page.

Which open question taking part helps answer: whether these 13 readings hold together, give the same answer twice and predict anything beyond existing measures. Results appear in this atlas as findings, with Calmistry's own method on the card.

Ways to take part

Two free self-checks

Two free self-checks open up here after your first result.

References

Every paper a finding cites, linked to its DOI or PubMed record, then the landmark papers used in the citation count.

Papers behind the findings (58)
  • Adam et al. 2017. Diurnal cortisol slopes and mental and physical health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  • Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema & Schweizer 2010. Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review.
  • Balban et al. 2023. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine.
  • Barsade 2002. The ripple effect: emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly.
  • Bolger & Schilling 1991. Personality and the problems of everyday life: the role of neuroticism in exposure and reactivity to daily stressors. Journal of Personality.
  • Cao & Drasgow 2019. Does forcing reduce faking? A meta-analytic review of forced-choice personality measures in high-stakes situations. Journal of Applied Psychology.
  • Carleton, Norton & Asmundson 2007. Fearing the unknown: a short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
  • Charles et al. 2013. The wear and tear of daily stressors on mental health. Psychological Science.
  • Chen et al. 2024. Emotion regulation flexibility and momentary affect in two cultures. Nature Mental Health.
  • Cheng, Lau & Chan 2014. Coping flexibility and psychological adjustment to stressful life changes: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Coan, Schaefer & Davidson 2006. Lending a hand: social regulation of the neural response to threat. Psychological Science.
  • Cohen & Wills 1985. Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein 1983. A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
  • Crum, Salovey & Achor 2013. Rethinking stress: the role of mindsets in determining the stress response. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Dickerson & Kemeny 2004. Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Fisher, Medaglia & Jeronimus 2018. Lack of group-to-individual generalizability is a threat to human subjects research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  • Fiß et al. 2026. Addressing mental health with daily-life ecological momentary interventions (ALERT) in people at increased risk for mental disorders: a micro-randomized trial. Journal of Affective Disorders.
  • Fleeson 2001. Toward a structure- and process-integrated view of personality: traits as density distributions of states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Ford et al. 2018. The psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts: laboratory, diary, and longitudinal evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Frattaroli 2006. Experimental disclosure and its moderators: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Galatzer-Levy, Huang & Bonanno 2018. Trajectories of resilience and dysfunction following potential trauma: a review and statistical evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review.
  • Gollwitzer & Sheeran 2006. Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.
  • Goyal et al. 2014. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine.
  • Gross & John 2003. Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan 2010. The weirdest people in the world?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
  • Houben, Van Den Noortgate & Kuppens 2015. The relation between short-term emotion dynamics and psychological well-being: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Hughes et al. 2017. The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health.
  • Infurna & Luthar 2016. Resilience to major life stressors is not as common as thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
  • Jamieson, Nock & Mendes 2012. Mind over matter: reappraising arousal improves cardiovascular and cognitive responses to stress. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
  • Jaremba et al. 2026. Optimizing just-in-time adaptive interventions for interpersonal distress: mechanisms, prediction, and the challenge of engagement. Scientific Reports.
  • Kanner et al. 1981. Comparison of two modes of stress measurement: daily hassles and uplifts versus major life events. Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
  • Kiecolt-Glaser et al. 2005. Hostile marital interactions, proinflammatory cytokine production, and wound healing. Archives of General Psychiatry.
  • Kivimäki et al. 2012. Job strain as a risk factor for coronary heart disease: a collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data. The Lancet.
  • Kunas et al. 2026. Multimodal personalized mobile health just-in-time adaptive intervention for occupational stress management: pilot study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth.
  • Kuppens, Allen & Sheeber 2010. Emotional inertia and psychological maladjustment. Psychological Science.
  • Lally et al. 2010. How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology.
  • Leger, Charles & Almeida 2018. Let it go: lingering negative affect in response to daily stressors is associated with physical health years later. Psychological Science.
  • LePine, LePine & Jackson 2004. Challenge and hindrance stress: relationships with exhaustion, motivation to learn, and learning performance. Journal of Applied Psychology.
  • LePine, Podsakoff & LePine 2005. A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor-hindrance stressor framework: an explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal.
  • Mani et al. 2013. Poverty impedes cognitive function. Science.
  • Moberly & Watkins 2008. Ruminative self-focus and negative affect: an experience sampling study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
  • Moberly & Watkins 2008. Ruminative self-focus, negative life events, and negative affect. Behaviour Research and Therapy.
  • Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow 1991. A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Ottaviani et al. 2016. Physiological concomitants of perseverative cognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Peleg, Wallimann & Pauly 2025. Savouring moderates affect reactivity to daily events in old age. Stress and Health.
  • Piazza et al. 2013. Affective reactivity to daily stressors and long-term risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
  • Roberts, Walton & Viechtbauer 2006. Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Saxbe & Repetti 2010. For better or worse? Coregulation of couples' cortisol levels and mood states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Schilling et al. 2022. Emotional reactivity to daily stressors: does stressor pile-up within a day matter for young-old and very old adults?. Psychology and Aging.
  • Schäfer et al. 2024. Digital interventions to promote psychological resilience: a systematic review and meta-analysis. npj Digital Medicine.
  • Seery, Holman & Silver 2010. Whatever does not kill us: cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Sonnentag & Fritz 2007. The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
  • Sîrbu & David 2024. Efficacy of app-based mobile health interventions for stress management: a systematic review and meta-analysis of self-reported, physiological, and neuroendocrine stress-related outcomes. Clinical Psychology Review.
  • Troy, Shallcross & Mauss 2013. A person-by-situation approach to emotion regulation: cognitive reappraisal can either help or hurt, depending on the context. Psychological Science.
  • Vazire 2010. Who knows what about a person? The self-other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Waters, West & Mendes 2014. Stress contagion: physiological covariation between mothers and infants. Psychological Science.
  • Webb, Miles & Sheeran 2012. Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Weber, Angerer & Apolinário-Hagen 2022. Physiological reactions to acute stressors and subjective stress during daily life: a systematic review on ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies. PLoS ONE.
Landmarks in the citation count: Stress physiology (4)
  • Selye 1936. A Syndrome produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents. Nature.
  • McEwen 1998. Protective and Damaging Effects of Stress Mediators. New England Journal of Medicine.
  • Dickerson & Kemeny 2004. Acute Stressors and Cortisol Responses: A Theoretical Integration and Synthesis of Laboratory Research.. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Chrousos 2009. Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature Reviews Endocrinology.
Landmarks in the citation count: Appraisal and emotion (4)
  • Tomaka et al. 1993. Subjective, physiological, and behavioral effects of threat and challenge appraisal.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Crum et al. 2013. Rethinking stress: The role of mindsets in determining the stress response.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
  • Jamieson et al. 2011. Mind over matter: Reappraising arousal improves cardiovascular and cognitive responses to stress.. Journal of Experimental Psychology General.
  • Folkman et al. 1986. Dynamics of a stressful encounter: Cognitive appraisal, coping, and encounter outcomes.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Landmarks in the citation count: Personality (4)
  • Bolger & Schilling 1991. Personality and the Problems of Everyday Life: The Role of Neuroticism In Exposure and Reactivity to Daily Stressors. Journal of Personality.
  • Donnellan et al. 2006. The Mini-IPIP Scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five Factors of Personality.. Psychological Assessment.
  • Ashton & Lee 2007. Empirical, Theoretical, and Practical Advantages of the HEXACO Model of Personality Structure. Personality and Social Psychology Review.
  • Jeronimus et al. 2014. Mutual reinforcement between neuroticism and life experiences: A five-wave, 16-year study to test reciprocal causation.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Landmarks in the citation count: Resilience and recovery (4)
  • Bonanno 2004. Loss, Trauma, and Human Resilience: Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive After Extremely Aversive Events?. American Psychologist.
  • Galatzer‐Levy et al. 2018. Trajectories of resilience and dysfunction following potential trauma: A review and statistical evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review.
  • Sonnentag & Fritz 2007. The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work.. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
  • Seery et al. 2010. Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Landmarks in the citation count: Coping and emotion regulation (4)
  • Gross 1998. The Emerging Field of Emotion Regulation: An Integrative Review. Review of General Psychology.
  • Webb et al. 2012. Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation.. Psychological Bulletin.
  • Kuppens et al. 2010. Emotional Inertia and Psychological Maladjustment. Psychological Science.
  • Brosschot et al. 2006. The perseverative cognition hypothesis: A review of worry, prolonged stress-related physiological activation, and health. Journal of Psychosomatic Research.
Landmarks in the citation count: Behaviour change (4)
  • Michie et al. 2011. The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science.
  • Gollwitzer & Sheeran 2006. Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta‐analysis of Effects and Processes. Advances in experimental social psychology.
  • Lally et al. 2009. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology.
  • Abraham & Michie 2008. A taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in interventions.. Health Psychology.
Landmarks in the citation count: Chronobiology and time (4)
  • Roenneberg et al. 2003. Life between Clocks: Daily Temporal Patterns of Human Chronotypes. Journal of Biological Rhythms.
  • Adam et al. 2017. Diurnal cortisol slopes and mental and physical health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  • Golder & Macy 2011. Diurnal and Seasonal Mood Vary with Work, Sleep, and Daylength Across Diverse Cultures. Science.
  • Charles et al. 2013. The Wear and Tear of Daily Stressors on Mental Health. Psychological Science.
Landmarks in the citation count: Birth timing (3)
  • Carlson 1985. A double-blind test of astrology. Nature.
  • Hartmann et al. 2006. The relationship between date of birth and individual differences in personality and general intelligence: A large-scale study. Personality and Individual Differences.
  • Lu et al. 2020. Disentangling stereotypes from social reality: Astrological stereotypes and discrimination in China.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The history behind the word (7)
  • Hooke 1678. Lectures de Potentia Restitutiva, or of Spring: explaining the power of springing bodies. London (book).
  • Cannon 1929. Organization for physiological homeostasis. Physiological Reviews.
  • Selye 1936. A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature.
  • Viner 1999. Putting stress in life: Hans Selye and the making of stress theory. Social Studies of Science.
  • Szabo, Tache & Somogyi 2012. The legacy of Hans Selye and the origins of stress research: a retrospective 75 years after his landmark brief letter to the editor of Nature. Stress.
  • McEwen 1998. Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine.
  • Epel et al. 2018. More than a feeling: a unified view of stress measurement for population science. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.
Also cited (1)

Counts from OpenAlex, an open index of scholarly papers.

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