## Social support instructions for the associate

General Instructions

- • is female • is female
- • is generally friendly, enthusiastic, approachable and smiles at subject • is generally friendly, enthusiastic, approachable and smiles at subject
- • gives passive support during the first 5 minutes and only speaks when the • gives passive support during the first 5 minutes and only speaks when the subject addresses her.
- • gives active support during the second 5 minutes: see standard response to • gives active support during the second 5 minutes: see standard response to minutes 5,7,9
- • social support response should appear as natural as possible: Confederate can deviate • social support response should appear as natural as possible: Confederate can deviate from standard response if the context requires it. Additional response options are listed in the table for other possible situations.
- • the subject explicitly does not want support (e.g., “I would like to keep working on my • the subject explicitly does not want support (e.g., “I would like to keep working on my à speech.”/ “Sorry, I need to focus on the task.”) only the standardized support responses (after 5,7,9 minutes) are being offered
- • support through physical contact (e.g., patting on the back, hugging etc.) • support through physical contact (e.g., patting on the back, hugging etc.)
- • should be able to express sentences of the initial situation and standard • should be able to express sentences of the initial situation and standard responses by heart and fluently!

Initial situation: Subject is sitting in the room. The investigator is with him/her. The confederate arrives.

Investigator: „Hello XX.“ [Turning to subject] „This is XX. She is a student assistant at our department. She will be present during the 10-minute preparation stage, in case you need help”. Confederate [greeting Pb enthusiastically]: „Hello, I am XX. I’ll keep an eye on the time. But I am also here for you if you need help. I still have some work to do on the computer but if I can help you in any way, please let me know. Just get in touch! “ Investigator [Turning to confederate]: „Thank you XX. “ [Turning to participant] „Start preparing for your speech now.“

Investigator leaves the room.

Confederate [starts own stopwatch]: „Time is running from now on! I wish you a lot of success. And as I said, just talk to me if you need help”

The confederate sits down at the computer, behaves quietly and edits a table on the computer. During the first five minutes of preparation, the confederate remains quiet and provides only passive support. She speaks only when the participant addresses her. The confederate is generally friendly, facing the participant and smiling. The 5 minutes of passive support is followed by 5 minutes of active social support with standardized support responses (minutes 5, 7, 9) for more details see G.2. In each case, the confederate records the participant's response to the standardized support sentences. She also notes any special or unusual reactions of the participant, including the time. To make the social support situation appear as natural as possible, it is possible to deviate from the standard sentences in terms of time if the context requires it. Besides, the confederate receives further support sentences to be able to react to different situations (for more details see G.2 below). If a participant explicitly does not want support, the standardized support responses (after 5, 7, 9 min) are offered. At the end of the 10-min preparation period, the confederate asks for a saliva sample (T1,