Cynicism, social support, and cardiovascular reactivity.

This study examined whether highly cynical individuals benefit less from social support during an acute stressor than individuals low in cynicism. College students (52 men, 52 women) performed a stressful speech task alone or in the presence of a supportive confederate. There was an interactive effect of social support and cynicism on cardiovascular reactivity: Low cynicism participants who received support had smaller increases in blood pressure during the speech than low cynicism participants without support and high cynicism participants with or without support. Participants' psychological stress appeared to mediate the main effects of support on blood pressure reactivity, but not the Support?×?Cynicism interaction. Results suggest that cynical attitudes may undermine the stress buffering potential of interpersonal support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cynical hostility and vulnerability to disease: Social support, life stress, and physiological response to conflict.

34 extremely high and 34 low scorers on the hostility (Ho) scale proposed by W. Cook and D. Medley (1954) were selected from a pool of male undergraduates. Consistent with previous findings, high-Ho Ss reported greater anger proneness and a more cynical view of others than did low-Ho Ss. The high-Ho group also tended to be more hostile and less friendly during role-played interactions involving high and low levels of interpersonal conflict. High-Ho Ss displayed greater diastolic blood pressure reactivity during interpersonal conflict and reported less social support and more negative life events and daily irritants then did low-Ho Ss. Results support the interpretations of the Ho scale as a measure of cynical hostility and are consistent with the hypothesis that hostility is related to disease by way of excessive physiological reactivity and a generally stressful, unsupportive social network. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between socioeconomic status, hostility, and blood pressure reactions to mental stress in men: Data from the Whitehall II study.

This study investigated the relationship among blood pressure reactions to mental stress, cynical hostility, and socioeconomic status (SES) in 1,091 male public servants. Occupational grade served to index SES and cynical hostility was assessed using the Cook-Medley scale. (Cook & Medley, 1954). The magnitude of systolic, but not diastolic, blood pressure change scores to stress was positively associated with occupational grade: the higher the grade, the greater the reactions. Mental stress task performance also varied with occupational grade but was unrelated to reactivity. Ratings of task difficulty did not vary with occupational grade. Cynical hostility was negatively related to occupational grade, and, contrary to previous findings, negatively related to systolic blood pressure reactivity. Cynical hostility was also negatively related to mental stress task performance but unrelated to ratings of task difficulty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress-induced asymmetric frontal brain activity and aggression risk.

Impersonal stressors, not only interpersonal provocation, can instigate aggression through an associative network linking negative emotions to behavioral activation (L. Berkowitz, 1990). Research has not examined the brain mechanisms that are engaged by different types of stress and serve to promote hostility and aggression. The present study examined whether stress exposure elicits more left than right frontal brain activity implicated in behavioral approach motivation and whether this lateralized brain activity predicts stress-induced aggression and hostile/aggressive tendencies. Results showed that (a) participants in the impersonal (assigned to stress by a computer) and interpersonal (assigned to stress by a provoking confederate) stress conditions both showed more left than right frontal electroencephalogram activity after condition assignment and stress exposure and (b) the 2 stress groups exhibited subsequent increases in aggression relative to the no-stress group. Importantly, left frontal asymmetry in response to stress exposure predicted increases in subsequent aggressive behavior, a finding that did not emerge in the no-stress condition. Thus, both the interpersonal and impersonal stressors impacted state changes in brain activity related to behavioral approach, suggesting that stress reactivity involving approach activation represents risk for behavioral dysregulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trait hostility and ambulatory blood pressure among traffic enforcement agents: The effects of stressful social interactions.

This study investigated the hypothesis that trait hostility is associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity to potentially stressful social interactions but not to nonsocial activities in the workplace. Participants were 73 (39 women) New York City traffic enforcement agents (TEAs) who patrol the streets and issue summonses for vehicular and parking violations. During their patrols, TEAs face potentially stressful interactions when they encounter motorists and pedestrians who may be angry about receiving summonses. Mood and ambulatory blood pressure were initially measured when TEAs were recently hired and attending classes at the training academy (Time 1), and were subsequently assessed again once the TEAs began independently patrolling the city streets (Time 2). Random effects regression models yielded a significant interaction of hostility and work activity on ambulatory systolic blood pressure at Time 2. For those high in hostility, but not for those low in hostility, systolic blood pressure levels were higher while interacting with members of the public than during nonsocial work activities. The findings support the notion that situational factors affect the association of hostility to cardiovascular reactivity, and that interpersonal stressors in the workplace elicit cardiovascular activation among those high in hostility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social support effects on cardiovascular reactivity: is a stranger as effective as a friend?

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the effects on cardiovascular reactivity of social support from an audience member depend only on the behavior of that person or also depend on the relationship between the audience and the actor. That is, is there any added reduction in physiological response if the person who is nodding and smiling supportively is also a friend? METHOD: Ninety subjects gave a speech to an observer. In two of the conditions, this observer was a confederate of the experimenter and a stranger to the subject. This confederate acted in either a supportive or neutral manner during the speech. In the final condition, this observer was a friend, brought by the subject, who was then trained to show support in the same manner as the supportive confederate. The comparison of the two confederate conditions tested the effect of support, holding the relationship constant. The comparison of friend and confederate supportive conditions tested the effect of the relationship, holding the supportive behaviors constant. All participants were female. RESULTS: Both supportive conditions produced significantly smaller cardiovascular increases than the confederate-neutral condition, and the friend-supportive condition produced significantly smaller systolic blood pressure increases than the confederate-supportive (friend-supportive: 7.9 mm Hg: confederate-supportive: 14.9 mm Hg; confederate-neutral: 22.9 mm Hg). Differences for diastolic pressure and heart rate were not significant, although the data followed the same pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Social support from a friend attenuated cardiovascular reactivity in a laboratory setting to a greater degree than support from a stranger. The subjects' construal of the supportive behaviors can have an effect on reactivity, over and above the effects of the actual behaviors themselves.     

Hostility and the progression of carotid atherosclerosis

We studied prospectively the association of hostility and anger suppression by the use of ultrasonographically assessed 2-year progression of carotid atherosclerosis (PCA) in a sample of 119 middle-aged men from eastern Finland. Based on measures of cynical distrust, impatience-irritability, anger-in, and anger-control, four variants of hostility-by-anger suppression model were tested with multiple regression analysis. In addition to the previously established risk factors (i.e., serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, smoking, and old age), cynical distrust and anger-control significantly predicted PCA. There was about a two-fold accelerated PCA in the group with high cynical distrust and high anger-control even after we controlled for the established biological risk factors and possible confounding background variables. The impact of the independent variables on PCA seemed to be additive rather than synergistic. These results, based on a relatively small, but nonselected population sample, extend previous results of angiographic studies.     

Environmental stress and biobehavioral antecedents of coronary heart disease.

This article provides an overview of research on the biobehavioral antecedents of coronary heart disease. Attention is given first to evidence that stressful occupational settings characterized by high demands and low levels of control over the job are associated with increased coronary risk. Also discussed is a promising animal primate model of social stress and coronary atherosclerosis. Next, the current status of the Type A behavior pattern is reviewed, with recent evidence suggesting that Type A may not be a potent risk factor in all populations. However, specific Type A components such as hostility as well as mode of anger expression (anger-in) have been related to coronary disease in recent studies. Next discussed is research on physiologic responsiveness (reactivity) to emotional stress, which is being studied as a marker of processes involved in the development of cardiovascular disease. Stress, Type A components, and psychophysiologic reactivity are promising candidates for research on clinical intervention. However, further evidence is needed before stress and reactivity can be regarded as proven risk factors for coronary disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The current situation of lagophthalmos and keratopathy of leprosy in PR China

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have reported poorer health behaviors in high vs. low hostile subjects. The role of stress in these observed differences has not been explored although interpersonal stress does increase cardiovascular response in high hostiles. Given evidence that stress may induce increased salt-intake, this study examined the role of hostility and interpersonal stress in increasing sodium consumption in addition to cardiovascular reactivity. METHOD: Sixty-nine male undergraduates were categorized into high (HiHo) and low hostile (LoHo) groups based on Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory scores. Subjects engaged in either a math task with harassment, math task without harassment, or a control/rest condition. Sodium intake was assessed posttask by having subjects ingest a sodium-free soup that was presented with a saltshaker without any comments. Cardiovascular measures were also recorded. RESULTS: HiHo subjects consumed more salt than LoHo subjects irrespective of experimental condition. HiHo subjects who were harassed also exhibited greater cardiac output, systolic blood pressure, and forearm blood flow than did HiHo nonharassed, HiHo control, or LoHo subjects. CONCLUSION: HiHo subjects exhibited increased salt-intake, although evidence for stress-induced salt-intake was not obtained. Nonetheless, the combination of salt and stress may contribute to the cardiovascular hyperreactivity and risk for cardiovascular disease in hostile individuals.     

Psychosocial predictors of natural killer cell mobilization during marital conflict.

This study examined how specific emotions relate to autonomic nervous and immune system parameters and whether cynical hostility moderates this relationship. Forty-one married couples participated in a 15-min discussion about a marital problem. Observers recorded spouses' emotional expressions during the discussion, and cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immunologic parameters were assessed throughout the laboratory session. Among men high in cynical hostility, anger displayed during the conflict was associated with greater elevations in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, cortisol, and increases in natural killer cell numbers and cytotoxicity. Among men low in cynical hostility, anger was associated with smaller increases in heart rate and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. These findings suggest that models describing the impact of stress on physiology should be refined to reflect the joint contribution of situational and dispositional variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agreement, attraction, and self-esteem.

Explored the role of increased self-esteem in mediating the relationship between attitudinal agreement and interpersonal attraction by creating conditions known to produce differential attraction and then testing for corresponding changes in self-esteem. 280 undergraduates were given a questionnaire measuring attitudes and self-esteem and were then exposed to a confederate student who (a) held either similar or dissimilar attitudes on a variety of current issues; and (b) had given them either a positive, a negative, or no personal evaluation. Posttreatment confederate evaluations and measures of self-esteem indicate that although the attraction manipulation was highly successful, no support was found for the notion that increased self-esteem was even a concomitant, let alone a determinant, of attraction. The only reliable posttreatment increase in self-esteem came from Ss who had been negatively evaluated, and appeared to be defensive in character. In addition, Ss receiving similar attitudes plus positive personal evaluations liked the stranger more, and those receiving dissimilar attitudes plus negative evaluations liked the stranger less, than did Ss who received the attitude similarity-dissimilarity manipulation only. These latter results suggest that current models of attraction in which the proportion of positive elements is the crucial factor should be reformulated. (French summary) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of emotion-specific appraisal, coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during an ongoing emotional episode.

The authors examined emotion-specific patterns of appraisal, coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during real ongoing emotional episodes. In this study, 109 participants performed a neutral opinion-expression task, where a confederate elicited anger, shame, or pride using verbal and nonverbal behavior. The authors assessed cognitive appraisals, emotional reactions, coping, outcomes (state self-esteem and outcome satisfaction), and cardiovascular reactivity. Results indicated substantial and theoretically consistent differences between the 3 emotions (and differences from a nonemotion condition) for cognitive appraisals, self-reported coping, behavioral coping, self-esteem, and cardiovascular reactivity. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for emotion theory and for psychological and physical health. Overall, the results suggest that researchers can study emotion-related issues using authentic emotional reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of controversy on cognitive perspective taking.

Theorists have posited that controversy among peers in which a person is forced to take the perspectives of others is vital for cognitive and moral development. There is no direct evidence, however, relating controversy and perspective taking. In the present study, 30 undergraduates expressed an opinion about a moral issue and discussed their opinion and reasoning with a confederate (an undergraduate) who always used social order (Kohlberg Stage 4) reasoning. In the controversy condition, the confederate had the opposing opinion and in the no-controversy condition, the same opinion. Compared to those in the no-controversy condition, Ss in the controversy condition indicated more accurate understanding of the structure of the confederate's reasoning than did those in the no-controversy condition. Ss in the no-controversy condition, however, rated that they believed they understood the other's reasoning more than did those in the controversy condition. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resting cardiovascular levels and reactivity to interpersonal incivility among Black, Latina/o, and White individuals: The moderating role of ethnic discrimination.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine cardiovascular responses among Black, non-Hispanic White, and Latina/o participants exposed to a potentially discriminatory situation. The study also examined the moderating role of prior history of discrimination on cardiovascular responses. Design: Black, Latina/o, and White participants engaged in a resting baseline and then interacted with an uncivil White research assistant. Main Outcome Measures: Two measures of prior exposure to discrimination were administered. Participants' blood pressure and heart rate (HR) were monitored throughout the protocol. The primary outcomes were resting cardiovascular function and cardiovascular reactivity to the uncivil interaction. Results: Past discrimination was related to higher resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) among Latina/o participants and lower resting SBP among White participants. Further, past discrimination was related to attenuated SBP and HR reactivity among Latina/o participants but was related to augmented HR reactivity among White participants. Discrimination was not related to resting levels or reactivity among Black participants. Conclusion: This study is the first to examine the relationship between discrimination and cardiovascular responses to interpersonal incivility among Black, Latina/o, and White individuals. Findings suggest that the relationship between discrimination and cardiovascular risk may differ by ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of age, sex, and family on Type A and hostile attitudes and behaviors.

Studied the influence of age, sex, and family on Type A and hostility indices that have been related to rates of coronary heart disease (CHD). Ss were 119 girls and 95 boys (aged 6–18 yrs) and 141 women and 120 men (aged 31–62 yrs) from 142 families. Results showed little familial aggregation of Type A behavior and hostility. Adults had higher Structured Interview (SI) potential-for-hostility ratings than did children, whereas children had higher MMPI-derived hostility scores and SI anger-in ratings than did adults. Male adults and male children had higher SI potential-for-hostility ratings and MMPI-derived hostility scores than did their female counterparts. The heightened hostility of males may account, in part, for their heightened risk of CHD relative to females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic psychosocial factors and acute physiological responses to laboratory-induced stress in healthy populations: A quantitative review of 30 years of investigations.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 135(5) of Psychological Bulletin (see record 2009-12487-006). There is an error in Table 1. On p. 840 the entry for Hill et al. 1987 should be Masters et al. 2004.] This meta-analysis included 729 studies from 161 articles investigating how acute stress responsivity (including stress reactivity and recovery of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis, autonomic, and cardiovascular systems) changes with various chronic psychosocial exposures (job stress; general life stress; depression or hopelessness; anxiety, neuroticism, or negative affect; hostility, aggression, or Type-A behavior; fatigue, burnout, or exhaustion; positive psychological states or traits) in healthy populations. In either the overall meta-analysis or the methodologically strong subanalysis, positive psychological states or traits were associated with reduced HPA reactivity. Hostility, aggression, or Type-A behavior was associated with increased cardiovascular (heart rate or blood pressure) reactivity, whereas anxiety, neuroticism, or negative affect was associated with decreased cardiovascular reactivity. General life stress and anxiety, neuroticism, or negative affect were associated with poorer cardiovascular recovery. However, regarding the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system, there were no associations between the chronic psychosocial factors and stress reactivity or recovery. The results largely reflect an integrated stress response pattern of hypo- or hyperactivity depending on the specific nature of the psychosocial background. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Talking facilitates cognitive–emotional processes of adaptation to an acute stressor.

The authors examined the influence of talking and the social context of talking on cognitive–emotional processes of adjustment to stressors. Two hundred fifty-six undergraduates viewed a stressful stimulus and were then assigned to a no-talk control condition or 1 of 3 talk conditions: talk alone, talk to a validating confederate, or talk to an invalidating confederate. Two days later, they were reexposed to the stressor. Compared with individuals in the no-talk condition, those in the talk alone and validate conditions had a lower level of intrusive thoughts in the 2-day interim, and they had lower perceived stress when reexposed to the stressor. The effects of talking and validation on perceived stress appeared to be mediated by lowered intrusions. The benefits of talking were diluted when disclosures were invalidated. These findings suggest that tatting about acute stressors, can facilitate adjustment to stressors through cognitive resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of racial stressors and hostility on cardiovascular reactivity in African American and Caucasian men.

This study examined the effects of race-related stressors and hostility on cardiovascular reactivity in 31 African American and 31 Caucasian men. Participants viewed 3 film excerpts that depicted neutral, anger-provoking (but race-neutral), and racist situations. Participants exhibited significantly greater diastolic blood pressure reactivity to anger-provoking and racist stimuli compared with neutral stimuli. In addition, high hostility was associated with higher recovery systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels after exposure to the film. Although the results failed to confirm previous reports of greater reactivity to racism in African Americans, the findings suggest that diastolic blood pressure levels may remain elevated after exposure to racist stimuli. These results indicate that even indirect exposure to interpersonal conflict elicits significant reactivity, which can persist after exposure to the stressor, especially among high-hostile men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and cardiovascular responses to interpersonal challenges among male offspring of essential hypertensives.

Behavioral, cardiovascular, and self-report measures of cognitive and affective responses to 2 interpersonal challenges were examined among 20 men with a positive (FH+) and 20 with a negative (FH–) family history of hypertension. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured throughout the laboratory session; Ss were requested to self-report positive and negative conditions, state anger, and state anxiety that occurred during interactions with a male and female confederate. Behavioral responses to interpersonal tasks were videotaped, coded, and categorized into 4 major groupings (positive verbal, positive nonverbal, negative verbal, and negative nonverbal). FH+ individuals exhibited significantly higher resting HR and systolic BP reactivity to both interactions than FH– counterparts. Analyses of behavioral responses for both interactions revealed significantly more negative verbal and nonverbal behavior and less positive nonverbal behavior among FH+ as compared with FH– Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)