Key result
A supportive experimenter during an anger recall task increased cardiac output reactivity and delayed systolic blood pressure recovery compared to a neutral experimenter.
Why the study?
Does a supportive experimenter reduce cardiovascular reactivity and improve recovery during an anger recall task in female undergraduates?
Does a supportive experimenter reduce cardiovascular reactivity and improve recovery during an anger recall task in female undergraduates?
Social support during stress may have counter-intuitive effects on hemodynamic reactivity and recovery, which appear to be influenced by individual differences such as cynical hostility.
Supportive presence may paradoxically heighten reactivity and delay recovery; hypothesis-generating for hostility-moderated effects beyond lab settings.
Although it is generally accepted that laboratory manipulations of social support can moderate cardiovascular reactivity to psychosocial stress, the findings are highly variable and the mechanisms of influence remain to be fully elucidated. We used thoracic impedance cardiography to assess patterns of parasympathetic activation and examine whether social support buffers stress reactivity and/or prevents prolonged activation following a stressor. Sixty-one female undergraduates completed an anger recall task with either a neutral or a supportive experimenter. Supported participants evidence increased cardiac output reactivity and delayed systolic blood pressure recovery compared to unsupported participants. However, perceived support from the experimenter was associated with reduced stroke volume reactivity. Highly cynically hostile participants evidenced delayed cardiovascular recovery compared to low cynicism participants. Counter-intuitive findings are explained in terms of individual variations in haemodynamic patterns of response. Perceived support may be determined by individual differences or response bias, rather than by support manipulation.
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León et al. (2007) studied this question. Supportive experimenter vs. Neutral experimenter was evaluated on Haemodynamic reactivity and recovery (cardiac output, systolic blood pressure, stroke volume). A supportive experimenter during an anger recall task increased cardiac output reactivity and delayed systolic blood pressure recovery compared to a neutral experimenter.
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