A recent study found that a small possibility of receiving a painful electric shock causes people more stress than knowing for sure that a shock was on the way. Researchers asked participants to guess whether a snake hid beneath a rock, while measuring stress levels. If a participant guessed incorrectly and turned over a rock with a snake beneath it, he received a small electric shock on the hand. While current research focuses on the negative impacts of stress, there may be benefits, too. The researchers found that individuals who experienced the greatest stress at moments of high uncertainty were also better able to judge whether or not a rock was hiding a snake. (March 30, 2016)
