Biomedical subjects

J Blascovich

Publications and source records attributed to J Blascovich.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Perceiver threat in social interactions with stigmatized others.

The extent to which stigmatized interaction partners engender perceivers' threat reactions (i.e., stigma-threat hypothesis) was examined. Experiments 1 and 2 included the manipulation of stigma using facial birthmarks. Experiment 3 included manipulations of race and socioeconomic status. Threat responses were measured physiologically, behaviorally, and subjectively. Perceivers interacting with stigmatized partners exhibited cardiovascular reactivity consistent with threat and poorer performance compared with participants interacting with nonstigmatized partners, who exhibited challenge reactivity. In Experiment 3, intergroup contact moderated physiological reactivity such that participants who reported more contact with Black persons exhibited less physiological threat when interacting with them. These results support the stigma-threat hypothesis and suggest the utility of a biopsychosocial approach to the study of stigma and related constructs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

African Americans and high blood pressure: the role of stereotype threat.

We examined the effect of stereotype threat on blood pressure reactivity. Compared with European Americans, and African Americans under little or no stereotype threat, African Americans under stereotype threat exhibited larger increases in mean arterial blood pressure during an academic test, and performed more poorly on difficult test items. We discuss the significance of these findings for understanding the incidence of hypertension among African Americans.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: the moderating effects of evaluative observation.

The impact of evaluative observation on cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress was evaluated in 162 undergraduate men and women. All participants performed three mental arithmetic tasks with or without evaluative observation. Impedance cardiographic, blood pressure, task performance, and stress appraisal measures were recorded for each task. Evaluative observation moderated the effects of task repetition on cardiac reactivity but not vascular reactivity. The introduction of evaluative observation disrupted cardiac adaptation, resulting in a resurgence of beta-adrenergic cardiac reactivity (p < .005), whereas the removal of evaluative observation promoted cardiac adaptation. Evaluative observation also increased stress appraisals and slowed task performance. The results support the dual process theory of habituation, rather than stimulus comparator theory, but only partially support cognitive appraisal theory.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1999

Social "facilitation" as challenge and threat.

The authors conducted an experiment to test a theoretical explanation of social facilitation based on the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat. Participants mastered 1 of 2 tasks and subsequently performed either the mastered (i.e., well-learned) or the unlearned task either alone or with an audience while cardiovascular responses were recorded. Cardiovascular responses of participants performing a well-learned task in the presence of others fit the challenge pattern (i.e., increased cardiac response and decreased vascular resistance), whereas cardiovascular responses of participants performing an unlearned task in the presence of others fit the threat pattern (i.e., increased cardiac response and increased vascular resistance), confirming the authors' hypotheses and the applicability of the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to explain these results.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation to recurrent psychological stress: effects of prior task exposure.

The effects of prior task exposure on cardiovascular reactivity to stress were examined in two experiments by randomly assigning participants to repeated exposure groups that performed mental arithmetic pretest and test tasks versus delayed exposure groups that performed only the test task after prolonged rest. Impedance cardiographic and blood pressure measures were recorded continuously from 60 undergraduate men in Experiment 1 and 112 undergraduate men and women in Experiment 2. Task repetition attenuated cardiovascular reactivity and improved task performance in repeated exposure groups (p < .001), suggesting an integrated process of behavioral adaptation. During the test task, delayed exposure groups showed greater cardiac reactivity (p < .01), but not vascular reactivity, than repeated exposure groups. Thus, cardiac reactivity varied as a specific function of prior task exposure, whereas vascular reactivity varied as a general function of time.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1998

Psychophysiological assessment of stress in chronic pain: comparisons of stressful stimuli and of response systems.

Due to disparate findings across the published studies, the stress-hyperactivity hypothesis has never been fully accepted as a causal mechanism for chronic muscle pain. Two recent comprehensive reviews of the psychophysiological studies of chronic pain came to opposite conclusions about the viability of the hypothesis, which stemmed from differing importance placed on the experimental methodology: the adequacy of stress manipulation. The present study tested the hypotheses that the adequacy of stress manipulation is influenced by stress stimuli type, degree of personal relevance, and selection of criterion for verification of stress experience, and that these factors have a measurable impact on the related physiological responses in a manner that is consistent with a theory of stress applicable to clinical stress disorders. The three factors investigated were: task (imagery, reaction time), relevance (high, low), and manipulation criterion (autonomic, self-report). The tasks were presented to 16 chronic pain patients while muscle, electrodermal, and self-report responses were recorded. Reaction-time tasks and high-relevance conditions led to high muscle and electrodermal responses. Only the high-relevance imagery, however, produced high self-reported distress. Consistent with other research, the present overall data demonstrated differing physiological profiles for different stimuli types. More importantly, these data suggest that the manipulation type and the manipulation criterion influence outcomes of experimental tests of stress on physiological systems, which may directly lead to contrasting conclusions about causal relations between stress and chronic pain conditions.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Cognitive and physiological antecedents of threat and challenge appraisal.

Cognitive appraisal theories of stress and emotion propose that cognitive appraisals precede physiological responses, whereas peripheralist theories propose that physiological arousal precedes cognitive processes. Three studies examined this issue regarding threat and challenge responses to potential stress. Study 1 supported cognitive appraisal theory by demonstrating that threat and challenge cognitive appraisals and physiological responses could be elicited experimentally by manipulating instructional set. Studies 2 and 3, in contrast, found that manipulations of physiological response patterns consistent with challenge and threat did not result in corresponding changes in cognitive appraisal. Appraisals in Study 3, however, were related to subjective pain independent of the physiological manipulation. These studies suggest a central role for cognitive appraisal processes in elicitation of threat and challenge responses to potentially stressful situations.

Blood Pressure↗

PubMed1996

The value of service dogs for people with severe ambulatory disabilities. A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of service dogs for people with ambulatory disabilities. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Environments of study participants. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-eight individuals with severe and chronic ambulatory disabilities requiring use of wheelchairs who were recruited from advocacy and support groups for persons with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. Participants were matched on age, sex, marital status, race, and the nature and severity of the disability in order to create 24 pairs. Within each pair, participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or a wait-list control group. INTERVENTION: Experimental group members received trained service dogs 1 month after the study began, and subjects in the wait-list control group received dogs in month 13 of the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dependent variables evaluated were self-reported assessments of psychological well-being, internal locus of control, community integration, school attendance, part-time work status, self-esteem, marital status, living arrangements, and number of biweekly paid and unpaid assistance hours. Data collection occurred every 6 months over a 2-year period, resulting in five data collection points for all subjects. RESULTS: Significant positive changes in all but two dependent measures were associated with the presence of a service dog both between and within groups (P<.001). Psychologically, all participants showed substantial improvements in self-esteem, internal locus of control, and psychological well-being within 6 months after receiving their service dog. Socially, all participants showed similar improvements in community integration. Demographically, all participants showed increases in school attendance and/or part-time employment. Economically, all participants showed dramatic decreases in the number of both paid and unpaid assistance hours. CONCLUSIONS: Trained service dogs can be highly beneficial and potentially cost-effective components of independent living for people with physical disabilities.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1995

Cardiorespiratory response under combined psychological and exercise stress.

The effects of combined physical and psychological stress on cardiovascular and respiratory responses were examined. Thirty-six undergraduate men performed a mental arithmetic task and moderate aerobic exercise, separately and in combination, while physiological measures were recorded continuously using electrocardiography, impedance cardiography, and respiratory gas analysis techniques. Cardiovascular responses during the combination of exercise and mental arithmetic stress were greater than those during either stressor alone, indicating that exercise did not mask the increases in cardiovascular performance evoked by psychological stress. In contrast, respiratory responses to the combined stressor were greater than those during isolated mental arithmetic, but less than those during isolated exercise. Thus the results indicate that physical and psychological stress exert a synergistic impact on cardiac performance, but not necessarily on respiratory performance. The results are consistent with the notion that the cardiovascular response to acute psychological stress exceeds concurrent metabolic demands.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Effects of music on cardiovascular reactivity among surgeons.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of surgeon-selected and experimenter-selected music on performance and autonomic responses of surgeons during a standard laboratory psychological stressor. DESIGN: Within-subjects laboratory experiment. SETTING: Hospital psychophysiology laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 50 male surgeons aged 31 to 61 years, who reported that they typically listen to music during surgery, volunteered for the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Cardiac responses, hemodynamic measures, electrodermal autonomic responses, task speed, and accuracy. RESULTS: Autonomic reactivity for all physiological measures was significantly less in the surgeon-selected music condition than in the experimenter-selected music condition, which in turn was significantly less than in the no-music control condition. Likewise, speed and accuracy of task performance were significantly better in the surgeon-selected music condition than in the experimenter-selected music condition, which was also significantly better than the no-music control condition. CONCLUSION: Surgeon-selected music was associated with reduced autonomic reactivity and improved performance of a stressful nonsurgical laboratory task in study participants.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Effects of vocalization on cardiovascular and electrodermal responses during mental arithmetic.

This study assessed the contribution of vocalization to autonomic responses during mental arithmetic. Specifically this study compared the autonomic responses of subjects during aloud and silent phases of repeated mental arithmetic tasks. The results were consistent for both tasks. As expected, heart rate and skin conductance responses were elevated during the aloud phases. Preejection period and cardiac output reactions, however, were greater during the silent phases. Furthermore, stroke volume declined during the aloud phases, but was maintained near resting levels during the silent phases. There were no phase effects for systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, or total peripheral resistance. The pattern of autonomic responses between aloud and silent phases of mental arithmetic suggest that the relationship between vocalization and autonomic response is not unidirectional but varies depending on the physiological parameter under investigation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Effects of justice beliefs on cognitive appraisal of and subjective, physiological, and behavioral responses to potential stress.

This study investigated the moderating role of just world beliefs on stress and coping processes. Ss high and low in belief in a just world were asked to perform a potentially stressful laboratory task, which was repeated once. Cognitive appraisals and subjective, autonomic, and behavioral responses were recorded for each of the two tasks. The results supported a stress-moderating effect for just world beliefs. Individuals high in just world beliefs had more benign cognitive appraisals of the stress tasks, rated the tasks as less stressful post hoc, had autonomic reactions consistent with challenge (vs. threat), and outperformed Ss low in just world beliefs. Discussion centers on factors that moderate the experiences of challenge and threat in potentially stressful situations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Attitude accessibility as a moderator of autonomic reactivity during decision making.

Attitude functionality was assessed in 2 experiments examining attitude accessibility as a moderator of physiological responses during decision making. In Study 1, experimental Ss but not controls rehearsed attitudes toward novel objects (abstract paintings). Subsequently, all Ss made rapid preference judgments for pairs of the paintings. In Study 2, attitudes were rehearsed by all Ss toward 1 of 2 mutually exclusive sets of abstract paintings. During the subsequent decision-making task, half the Ss made rapid pairwise preference judgments for rehearsed abstract paintings and half for pairs from the unrehearsed set. Autonomic measures were recorded continuously throughout both experiments. As predicted, in both experiments less autonomic reactivity was evident during the criterion pairwise preference task for groups for whom attitude rehearsal was relevant to the criterion task.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Affect intensity and cardiac arousal.

Relationships between affect intensity and basal, evoked, and perceived cardiac arousal were investigated in 3 experiments. Affect intensity was assessed using Larsen and Diener's (1987) Affect Intensity Measure (AIM). Cardiac arousal was evoked with exercise in the 1st study and with mental arithmetic in the 2nd and 3rd. Perceived cardiac arousal was measured under optimal conditions using a standard heartbeat discrimination procedure. Women as a group scored higher on the AIM. Affect intensity was unrelated to basal or evoked cardiac arousal and was negatively related to perceived cardiac arousal in all 3 studies. Data suggest that affect intensity, although unrelated to actual physiological arousal, is negatively related to the accuracy with which individuals perceive their own arousal. Results are discussed within the context of an expanded arousal-regulation model (Blascovich, 1990).

Affect↗

PubMed1991

Presence of human friends and pet dogs as moderators of autonomic responses to stress in women.

Autonomic responses were measured while 45 adult women performed a standard experimental stress task in the laboratory with only the experimenter present and 2 weeks later at home in the presence of a female friend, pet dog, or neither. Results demonstrated that autonomic reactivity was moderated by the presence of a companion, the nature of whom was critical to the size and direction of the effect. Ss in the friend condition exhibited higher physiological reactivity and poorer performance than subjects in the control and pet conditions. Ss in the pet condition showed less physiological reactivity during stressful tasks than Ss in the other conditions. The results are interpreted in terms of the degree to which friends and pets are perceived as evaluative during stressful task performance. Physiological reactivity was consistent across the laboratory and field settings.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1981

Empirical assessment of visceral self-perception: individual and sex differences in the acquisition of heartbeat discrimination.

This study had two aims: (a) to test precisely the degree to which subjects can learn to discriminate their own heartbeats and (b) to pursue preliminary data suggesting that males and females differ in their ability to learn such discriminations. A new methodology, based on the theory of signal detection, was employed to evaluate objectively and quantitatively the performance of nine male and nine female subjects. The results confirmed the validity of the new methodology for assessing heartbeat detection and also confirmed earlier observations that males are able to learn to detect their own heartbeats but females are not. The results are discussed with particular reference to implications for viscerally based theories of emotion.

Arousal↗

PubMed1981

Influence of stereotypes in the diagnosis of depression by family practice residents.

The focus of this study was on the diagnosis of depression by family practice residents. The sensitivity and specificity of the residents for depression were determined by comparing their diagnoses with the results of an objective assessment of depression for a group of 222 ambulatory patients from a family practice center. The objective assessment involved the administration of the Beck Depression Index to the patients, whereas charts were audited for resident diagnoses. The results indicated that the sensitivity and specificity of the residents' diagnostic acumen for depression were .18 and .90, respectively. In addition, the operation of a sex stereotype was suggested by an analysis which revealed that a disproportionate number of females were diagnosed as depressed by the residents. These results suggest that an increased emphasis be placed on the diagnosis of common psychiatric problems such as depression in family practice residency programs.

Adult↗