Denial and the discrepancy between heart rate and reported negative affect: a study of convergent and discriminant...

This study examined the convergent and divergent validity of heart-rate (HR)-based response discrepancy scores as measures of denial. After standardizing measures of stressor-related anxiety, hostility, and HR, response discrepancy scores were calculated by subtracting each measure of negative affect from the HR value. Analyses revealed the response discrepancy scores to correlate positively with measures of denial, negatively with a measure of trait anger, and to not correlate with measures of the nondefensive need for approval and the positive trait of curiosity. These findings support the construct validity of response discrepancy scores as markers of denial.