Key result
The opportunity to avoid shocks during a reaction time task resulted in greater changes in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse transit time compared to passive exposure to shocks.
Why the study?
Do active coping factors (opportunity to avoid shocks, prior experience, performance feedback) increase cardiovascular responses to stress compared to passive exposure?
Population
Subjects undergoing an unsignaled reaction time task involving exposure to mild shocks
Comparison
Active coping conditions: opportunity to avoid… vs Yoked control design
Follow-up
During the reaction time task
Authors
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Active coping may heighten acute sympathetic cardiovascular reactivity; hypothesis-generating for stress reactivity mechanisms and long-term risk.
Do active coping factors (opportunity to avoid shocks, prior experience, performance feedback) increase cardiovascular responses to stress compared to passive exposure?
Active coping efforts, such as the opportunity to avoid a stressor, evoke greater sympathetically mediated cardiovascular changes than passive exposure.
Light et al. (1980) studied this question. Opportunity to avoid shocks vs. Passive exposure to shocks (yoked control) was evaluated on Cardiovascular changes (systolic blood pressure, heart rate, pulse transit time, carotid dP/dt). The opportunity to avoid shocks during a reaction time task resulted in greater changes in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse transit time compared to passive exposure to shocks.
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