Shelley Taylor

Shelley Taylor proposed that the classic fight-or-flight stress response is only part of the picture, particularly for females who may also respond to threat by tending to offspring and seeking social alliances. The theory, published around 2000, drew on research showing that oxytocin and social bonding play a role in stress responses alongside adrenaline and cortisol.

Taylor's cognitive adaptation theory describes how people psychologically adjust to threatening events such as cancer diagnosis or heart attack by restoring a sense of control, finding meaning, and rebuilding self-esteem. She found that these cognitive adjustments are active processes that predict better long-term adjustment.

Shelley Taylor is a distinguished professor of psychology at UCLA, where she has spent much of her academic career. Her research program at UCLA bridges social psychology and health psychology, examining how social and cognitive factors influence physical health outcomes.

Taylor published Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind, arguing that mildly distorted, optimistic self-perceptions are actually associated with better mental health and well-being. This challenged the then-prevailing view that accurate reality perception was always psychologically healthier.