Cross-situational consistency of cardiovascular reactivity

The present study assessed cross-situational consistency of cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors among 85 undergraduate males. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse rate (PR) responses to a challenging interview were measured. Two weeks later in a different laboratory with different personnel, the same responses were measured, this time in response to a stressful mental rotations task. Raw and baseline-adjusted PR and SBP reactivity scores were significantly correlated across the two situations, while the correlations for DBP reactivity were marginally significant. Consistent with previous research, these results suggest that cardiovascular reactivity is a stable individual difference dimension.