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Cardiovascular reactivity and interpersonal influence: active coping in a social context
T W Smith1, K D Allred, C A Morrison
1Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|February 1, 1989
Summary
Effortfully influencing others significantly increases blood pressure and heart rate, similar to other stressful tasks. This interpersonal coping may impact cardiovascular disease development.
Area of Science:
- Psychosomatic medicine
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Social psychology
Background:
- Active coping, involving effort to control outcomes, elevates cardiovascular responses like blood pressure and heart rate.
- Prior research primarily used impersonal tasks, limiting understanding of social influences on cardiovascular reactivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cardiovascular effects of effortful interpersonal influence attempts.
- To determine if social influence tasks elicit similar cardiovascular reactivity as impersonal tasks.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with human participants.
- Participants engaged in tasks requiring them to influence another person's opinions to achieve incentives.
- Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were monitored.
Main Results:
- Effortful attempts to influence others significantly increased SBP, DBP, and HR.
- These cardiovascular changes occurred during both preparation and execution of influence attempts.
- Increased incentive magnitude for persuasion led to greater cardiovascular reactivity.
Conclusions:
- The capacity to influence others represents an interpersonal form of active coping.
- This interpersonal coping style may have implications for the development of cardiovascular disease.