THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON HEDONIC CAPACITY

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of stress on hedo nic capacity. In Experiment 1, cadets in the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps reported experiencing less pleasure while watching amu sing film clips after participating in a weekend of field training exe rcises than they did on a control day. In Experiment 2, college studen ts reported experiencing less pleasure in their daily activities durin g final exam week than they did at the baseline assessment. Hedonic ca pacity was associated with positive affect but not with negative affec t or reported stress levels. The deleterious effect of stress on hedon ic capacity was particularly strong for subjects with family histories of depression.