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Task difficulty effects on cardiac activity
Author(s) -
Richter Michael,
Friedrich Antonia,
Gendolla Guido H. E.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00688.x
Subject(s) - psychology , coping (psychology) , wright , heart rate , blood pressure , reactivity (psychology) , task (project management) , developmental psychology , cardiology , medicine , clinical psychology , art , alternative medicine , management , pathology , economics , art history
An experiment with 64 participants manipulated task difficulty and assessed cardiac reactivity in active coping over four levels of demand. Participants performed a memory task while preejection period, heart rate, and blood pressure were assessed. In accordance with the theoretical predictions of R. A. Wright's (1996) integration of motivational intensity theory (J. W. Brehm & E. A. Self, 1989) with Obrist's active coping approach (P. A. Obrist, 1981), preejection period and systolic blood pressure reactivity increased with task difficulty across the first three difficulty levels. On the fourth difficulty level—where success was impossible—reactivity of both preejection period and systolic blood pressure were low. These findings provide the first clear evidence for the notion of Wright's integrative model that energy mobilization in active coping is mediated by beta‐adrenergic impact on the heart.