Figures & data
Figure 1. Salivary cortisol concentrations on the day before the written examination and the day before the control day for 10:00, 16:00 and 21:00 h for (a) participants with the control day after the examination (n = 26) and (b) participants with the control day before the examination (n = 9). Data are mean ± SEM. Mixed model analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations were significantly elevated on the day preceding the examination. Further analyses showed that this effect was due to differences at 16:00 h, but only in those participants who took part in the control day after the written examination (there was a trend towards an interaction between examination day and order). * indicates p < 0.05.Exam: examination.
Figure 2. Salivary cortisol concentrations before and after a written examination and a control day (n = 35). Data are mean ± SEM. The examinations lasted on average about two and a half hours and started in the morning between 09:00 and 10:00 h. Mixed model analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations were significantly elevated on the examination day. This effect was largely driven by the pre-examination measurement. * indicates p < 0.05.
Figure 3. Salivary cortisol concentrations before and after an oral presentation and on a control day (n = 34). Data are mean ± SEM. Mixed model analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations were significantly elevated before (Pre) and after (Post) the oral presentation. ** indicates p < 0.01. In this study, all participants collected the salivary samples for the control day after the oral presentation.
