SOCIAL EVALUATION AND CARDIOVASCULAR-RESPONSE - AN ACTIVE COPING APPROACH

Cardiovascular effects of social evaluation were examined under differ ent task conditions. In Experiment 1, systolic responses in women were greater under public than private conditions when a fixed behavioral challenge was difficult, but not when the challenge was easy. In Exper iment 2, social evaluation potentiated systolic responsivity in men an d women when a behavioral challenge was unfixed, but not when a behavi oral challenge was fixed and easy to meet. Results are discussed in te rms of a recent integrative analysis of effort and cardiovascular resp onse as well as alternative conceptions that posit, or might be taken to imply, an association between publicity and physiologic activation.