Comparative studies of social buffering: A consideration of approaches, terminology, and pitfalls

•Various approaches to studying social buffering are considered and categorized.•A distinction is made between buffering during stress exposure and during recovery.•Buffering is more common when there is a strong relationship between individuals.•Species differences in social and sensory systems affect buffering outcomes.•Underlying neural mechanisms can vary with different subjects and different partners. KIYOKAWA, Y. and HENNESSY, M.B. Comparative studies of social buffering: A consideration of approaches, terminology, and pitfalls…NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV XXX–XXX, .- Over the past decades, there has been an increasing number of investigations of the impact of social variables on neural, endocrine, and immune outcomes. Among these are studies of “social buffering”—or the phenomenon by which affiliative social partners mitigate the response to stressors. Yet, as social buffering studies have become more commonplace, the variety of approaches taken, definitions employed, and divergent results obtained in different species can lead to confusion and miscommunication. The aim of the present paper, therefore, is to address terminology and approaches and to highlight potential pitfalls to the study of social buffering across nonhuman species. We review and categorize variables currently being employed in social buffering studies and provide an overview of responses measured, mediating sensory modalities and underlying mechanisms. It is our hope that the paper will be useful to those contemplating examination of social buffering in the context of their own research.