Task demand and cardiovascular response magnitude: further evidence of the mediating role of success importance

The interactive effects of success importance and task demand upon cardiovascular reactivity were investigated in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, Ss learned that success on an easy or difficult memory task would allow them to avoid a mild or severe noise. As expected, pretask and task elevations in heart rate and systolic blood pressure increased with difficulty only when the noise was to be severe. In Experiment 2, Ss listened to a victim, attending either to how she must feel or to technical features of the presentation. Then they were given the chance to earn a donation by succeeding on an easy or difficult memory task. Pretask cardiovascular data accorded with predictions predicated on the assumption that the need to help would be greater among victim perspective Ss. For them, systolic elevations increased with difficulty, whereas for technical perspective Ss systolic elevations were low regardless of task demand.     

Facilitating sexual arousal via anger,aggression, or dominance

The hypothesis that either an angry emotional state or the expression of aggressive behavior facilitates sexual arousal has been the subject of considerable speculation but relatively little research. In a series of studies, Barclay found that anger increased sexual arousal as measured by the amount of sexual imagery produced in response to TAT-like stimuli that depicted males and females in dominant and submissive roles. In the present research, a series of experiments was conducted to determine whether such facilitation can be generalized beyond the specific procedures used by Barclay. Subjects (151 males and 136 females) in three experiments were angered by being negatively evaluated by a confederate identified as a fellow subject. Some subjects were subsequently given an opportunity to aggress; additionally, some subjects were exposed to male- and female-dominant pictorial stimuli. Results indicated that neither anger instigation nor the opportunity to engage in aggressive acts influenced self-reported sexual arousal. There was consistent evidence, however, that portrayals of dominance influenced perceptions of the stimulus person's sexuality. Though anger and aggression do not seem to facilitate sexual arousal, dominance cues (which can be confounded with anger manipulation) clearly elicit perceptions of sexuality.     

The Jenkins Activity Survey measure of type a and frustration-induced anger

The present study examined the physiological and self-report responses of Type A and B males, defined by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), to an anger-inducing frustration manipulation. Subjects jointly performed a task with a confederate and either were or were not frustrated by the confederate in their attempt to gain a prize. Physiological and self-report measures indicated that the frustration manipulation generated anger, but there was no evidence that Type A subjects were more angered than Type B subjects. Such findings may reflect a weakness in the Jenkins Activity Survey for adequately measuring the hostility component of the Type A pattern.The research reported here was supported by a Biomedical Sciences Support Grant RRO 7037 to the second author.     

Expression of interpersonal aggression by angered and nonangered persons with the type A and type B behavior patterns

Thirty-seven subjects with the Type A or the Type B behavior pattern were first either angered or not angered in a problem-solving task by a confederate who posed as another subject. In a subsequent bogus learning experiment, the Type A and Type B subjects had the opportunity to punish or reward the confederate. The effectiveness of the anger manipulation was attested to by the fact that angered subjects had reliably higher pulse rates, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. In the learning experiment, Type A subjects who had not been angered gave the confederate reliably higher levels of punishment than did Type B subjects, but there was not a difference in the levels of punishment given by Type A and Type B subjects who had been angered. There was not a difference between Type A and Type B subjects in the levels of reward they gave the confederate. The results provided behavioral evidence for aggression in persons with the Type A behavior pattern. The fact that the difference in aggression was limited to nonangered subjects was interpreted in terms of differences in attributions of responsibility.     

Neuroticism and cardiovascular response in women: evidence of effects on blood pressure recovery

Neuroticism is a unifying personality trait that underlies a number of psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease. One means by which Neuroticism may influence health risk is through effects on cardiovascular reactivity and recovery. Eighty-six women scoring high or low in Neuroticism took part in a paired interpersonal stressor task with a laboratory confederate. Conditions differed on the basis of the confederate's interpersonal behavior: hostile, neutral, or friendly. Neuroticism interacted with condition to affect blood pressure recovery such that women high in Neuroticism showed less recovery following hostile interactions and greater recovery following friendly interactions. Main effects of Neuroticism on anger and anxiety reactivity were found. Results indicate that Neuroticism is relevant to cardiovascular health in the context of valenced social interactions. Implications for future study of Neuroticism and interpersonal stressors as risk factors for cardiovascular disease are discussed.     

Depressive self-presentation: beyond self-handicapping

An experiment was conducted to examine the notion that depressives' responses would reflect a protective self-presentation style (Hill, Weary, & Williams, 1986), the underlying goal of which would be the avoidance of future performance demands and potential losses in self-esteem. In this study, depressed and nondepressed Ss were asked to perform a relatively simple visual-motor task. Half of the depressed and half of the nondepressed Ss were told that if they were successful at the task, they would be asked to perform a 2nd, similar task. The remaining Ss were given no such expectation of future performance. We predicted and found that depressed compared with nondepressed Ss strategically failed at the task when presented with the possibility of future performance and further losses in esteem. Moreover, this strategic failure was associated with some costs; depressed-future performance expectancy Ss experienced more discomfort or negative affect as a result of their performance. The relationship between this depressive self-presentation and self-handicapping strategies is discussed.     

Alexithymia and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults: Psychosocial,Psychophysiological, and Biomedical Correlates

Psychosocial correlates of alexithymia were examined in 102 healthy, older adults (ages 53-83; 76% male). Alexithymic ( n = 26) and non-alexithymic ( n = 30) groups, defined by top ( S 70) and bottom ( h 54) quartiles of the distribution of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (26-item) scores, were compared with respect to psychosocial, psychophysiological, and biomedical risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Both categorical ratings and continuous scores of alexithymia were associated with significantly greater levels of trait anxiety, anger-in, neuroticism, hostility, perceived stress, depression, and lower levels of social support. Compared to non-alexithymics, alexithymics displayed significantly greater blood pressure responses to anger provocation and tended to have a greater percent body fat. The groups did not differ in resting cardiovascular parameters, heart rate reactivity, fasting glucose and lipoprotein lipids, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, social desirability, or trait anger. These findings suggest several psychosocial and psychophysiological pathways by which alexithymia may confer risk for cardiovascular disease among older adults.     

The aggression-inhibiting influence of nonhostile humor

Forty undergraduate students participated in an experiment designed to investigate the hypothesis that prior exposure to nonhostile humor would markedly reduce the level of aggression directed by angry individuals against the person who had previously provoked them. In order to examine this suggestion, subjects were first angered or not angered by a confederate of the experimenter, then exposed to either humorous cartoons or nonhumorous pictures, and finally provided with an opportunity to aggress against this individual by means of electric shock. Results indicated that exposure to the nonhostile cartoons significantly reduced the duration of the shocks delivered to the confederate by subjects in the angry condition, but failed to influence the level of aggression demonstrated by subjects in the nonangry group. These findings were discussed in terms of the elicitation, by the cartoons, of responses and emotional states incompatible with anger or overt aggression. Possible implications of the aggression-inhibiting influence of humor for the prevention and control of human violence were also considered.     

Perceived racism and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery to personally relevant stress.

This study evaluated cardiovascular responses (CVR) to an active speech task with blatantly discriminatory (BRC) versus neutral (NRC) stimuli and an anger recall task in a sample of Black men (N = 73; age 18 to 47). Diastolic blood pressure scores were higher for NRC versus BRC stimuli during anger recall (p = .05). Moreover, persons in the NRC group who perceived high levels of racism (vs. no racism or BRC group) during active speech showed larger increases in blood pressure across postspeech rest, anger recall, and subsequent rest (p = .03). The notable elevation in CVR in response to an ambiguous event extends current models of racism suggesting that subtle racism is a psychosocial stressor that erodes health through chronically elevated CVR.     

Women's Cognitive,Affective, and Physiological Reactions to a Male Coworker's Sexist Behavior1

Empirical research has documented the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of sexual harassment, but has not examined the physiological consequences. In the present study, we monitored women's autonomic physiological activity while they performed a word‐association task with a male confederate who was either harassing, egalitarian, or submissive. Subsequently, we examined the women's cognitive, affective, and physiological reactions as they prepared and delivered a speech to the same confederate. Results indicate that harassment led to greater cardiovascular reactivity during the word‐association task and to greater cognitive, negative affective, and cardiovascular reactions during the subsequent speech compared with other conditions. Subgroups of harassed women who confronted their coworker, or who blamed themselves for his behavior, also exhibited greater cardiovascular reactivity during both tasks compared to women who did not use these coping responses. We integrate our laboratory results with those obtained in field settings.     

Aggressor's response to the victim's facial expression of emotion

Male college students (N = 96) were met by an experimental confederate who either agreed or disagreed with their opinion. The subjects were then given an opportunity to deliver electric shock to the confederate (victim), who responded to the shock with a facial expression of anger, fear, joy, or neutrality. The opinion condition had no effect, but the victim's facial expressions were clearly perceived by the subjects and two of them significantly influenced the amount of shock delivered to the victim by the subjects. The expression of enjoyment (smile) increased aggression while that of anger decreased aggression. The effects of the fear and neutral expressions did not differ from each other, and neither had a consistent significant effect on the amount of shock administered by the subjects.     

The facilitation of aggression by aggression: evidence against the catharsis hypothesis.

Nnety male subjects were either attacked or treated in a more neutral manner by a male confederate. On a subsequent maze-learning task, one third of the subjects shocked the confederate, one third observed as the experimenter shocked the confederate, and one third waited for a period of time during which the confederate was not shocked. Finally, all subjects shocked the confederate as part of a code-learning task. Subjects who had been attacked and had shocked the confederate during the maze task delivered shocks of greater intensity on the code task did subjects in the other two conditions, and the former subjects also experienced a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure than did the latter. The results contradict the hypothesis of aggression catharsis and are discussed in terms of feelings of restraint against aggressing that a subject experiences after committing an aggressive act.     

Effects of anger suppression on pain severity and pain behaviors among chronic pain patients: evaluation of an ironic process model

OBJECTIVE: Evidence for links between anger inhibition or suppression and chronic pain severity is based mostly on studies with correlation designs. Following from ironic process theory, we proposed that attempts to suppress angry thoughts during provocation would increase subsequent pain intensity among chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients, and do so through paradoxically enhanced accessibility of anger. DESIGN: CLBP patients (N = 58) were assigned to suppression and nonsuppression conditions while performing a computer maze task with a harassing confederate. A structured pain behavior task (SPBT) followed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported anger, anxiety, and sadness following maze task. Self-reported pain severity and number of observed pain behaviors during SPBT. RESULTS: Patients told to suppress during provocation: (a) reported greater anger following the maze task, reported greater pain intensity during the SPBT, and exhibited more pain behaviors than patients not suppressing; (b) postmaze anger levels significantly mediated group differences on pain behaviors. CONCLUSION: Attempts by CLBP patients to suppress anger may aggravate pain related to their clinical condition through ironically increased feelings of anger.     

Stress reactivity and exercise training in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Examined the influence of ovarian function on psychophysiological stress responses and determined if aerobic exercise reduced stress reactivity. Fifty premenopausal and postmenopausal women initially were subjected to a public speaking task and an ice-on-the-forehead procedure, during which time their blood pressure and heart rate were monitored and continuous blood samples were obtained. Subjects also underwent aerobic fitness evaluations with a maximum-exercise treadmill test. Subjects were then randomly assigned to a 12-week exercise program of either aerobic exercise (e.g., walking and jogging at a prescribed exercise intensity) or non-aerobic strength and flexibility training and were then reevaluated. Results indicated that postmenopausal women exhibited lower resting epinephrine levels but greater epinephrine reactivity to the speaking task compared to the premenopausal women. There were no differences between premenopausal and postmenopausal women with respect to cardiovascular or catecholamine responses during the cold challenge. Premenopausal and postmenopausal women also achieved comparable improvements in aerobic fitness. However, results of the mental stress testing were complex and provided only partial support for the role of aerobic exercise in reducing stress responses.     

Perception of an adversary as a function of masculinity, sex, and aggression/empathy

The study was designed to test whether men and women identifying with a masculine stereotype differ in their perception of a confederate (adversary) who displays either an empathetic or aggressive role in resolving a disagreement over social issues. It was hypothesized that masculine individuals would be more perceptually sensitive to aggressive cues of an adversary and make more hostile responses than nonmasculine individuals. Conversely, nonmasculine individuals were hypothesized to be more perceptually sensitive to empathetic cues of an adversary and make fewer hostile responses than masculine individuals. Results of both perceptual measures and the measure of hostility did not support the hypotheses. Nonmasculine individuals perceived the adversary more positively than masculine individuals regardless of strategy of resolution.     

Discrimination, dispositions, and cardiovascular responses to stress.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research suggests that past exposure to discrimination may influence perceptions of, and physiological responses to, new challenges. The authors examined how race and trait levels of hostility and optimism interact with past exposure to discrimination to predict physiological reactivity and recovery during an anger recall task. DESIGN: A community sample of 165 normotensive Black and White adults participated in an anger recall task while having their cardiovascular function monitored. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Blood pressure and heart rate indicators of physiological reactivity and recovery. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Participants had higher reactivity and slower recovery to the anger recall task when they had high past discrimination, low cynicism, or high optimism. The pattern of effects was similar for both racial groups, but Blacks had more acute reactivity and slower recovery than Whites. These results are consistent with the perspective of discrimination as a chronic stressor that is related to acute stress responses, particularly for Blacks.     

Social "facilitation" as challenge and threat.

The authors conducted an experiment to test a theoretical explanation of social facilitation based on the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat. Participants mastered 1 of 2 tasks and subsequently performed either the mastered (i.e., well-learned) or the unlearned task either alone or with an audience while cardiovascular responses were recorded. Cardiovascular responses of participants performing a well-learned task in the presence of others fit the challenge pattern (i.e., increased cardiac response and decreased vascular resistance), whereas cardiovascular responses of participants performing an unlearned task in the presence of others fit the threat pattern (i.e., increased cardiac response and increased vascular resistance), confirming the authors' hypotheses and the applicability of the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to explain these results.     

Social influence, marriage, and the heart: cardiovascular consequences of interpersonal control in husbands and wives.

Human and experimental animal research suggests that social stress in general--and chronic, effortful attempts to exert social control in particular--may contribute to cardiovascular disease. We examined the effects of exerting social influence or control on cardiovascular responses in married couples. Compared to husbands discussing a problem with their wives, husbands attempting to influence or persuade their wives displayed larger increases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) before and during the discussion. Furthermore, these physiological effects were accompanied by increases in anger and a more hostile and coldly assertive interpersonal style. Although wives who engaged in social influence attempts displayed generally similar behavior, they did not show the elevated SBP response or anger. We discuss the results in terms of the social context of cardiovascular reactivity and potential marital factors in cardiovascular health.     

Active and passive observers' attraction to a self-disclosing other

Active observer (participant) subjects were induced to make either a high or a low intimacy disclosure about themselves to a partner. Their (videotaped confederate) partner then disclosed either intimately or non-intimately in return. The impressions and attributions of these subjects were compared to the predictions of passive observer subjects (non-participants) who were each furnished with the original instructions, heard a tape recording of a different active observer's disclosure, and watched the same videotape of the confederate that person had seen. As expected, both active observers' responses and passive observers' predictions indicated a preference for the intimate partner. In addition, passive observers' attraction predictions were less positive than active observers' reports. But contrary to the hypotheses, passive observers predicted that active observers would attribute the partner's disclosure more to personalistic causes than was actually the case, and guessed inaccurately that active observers would interpret the partner's intimacy as an indicator of attraction. The methodological implications of these active-passive observer differences for research in self-disclosure and relationships are discussed.     

Responses to interpersonal conflict among young adults: Influence of family of origin

This study aimed to examine the role of family environment upon responses to interpersonal conflict in young adulthood, and to determine whether response patterns differed between men and women. Behavioral, affective, and cardiovascular responses of 17 young adults from families rated extreme (EXT) on scales of cohesion and flexibility were compared with those of 21 young adults from balanced (BAL) families. Participants engaged in 2 role‐play conflicts, 1 with a male confederate and 1 with a female confederate. Measures of positive and negative verbal and nonverbal behaviors, self‐reported anxiety and anger, and heart rate and blood pressure were obtained. Results showed EXT participants exhibited more negative verbal and less positive verbal behavior during both interactions than BAL participants. EXT men exhibited greater DBP, state anger, and negative nonverbal responses than BAL men, findings not observed for women. These findings indicate that exposure to a negative family environment influences how young adult men respond to interpersonal confrontation more than young adult women.