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The impact of "non-evaluative" and "evaluative" friends on cardiovascular reactivity during a stressful math task Kors, Deborah Joy
Abstract
This study was conducted to further examine the role of social support in moderating cardiovascular reactivity to behavioral stress. Specifically, evaluation potential was manipulated in order to determine if absence of evaluation is a critical ingredient for the beneficial effects of support on cardiovascular reactivity. Forty-eight female university students performed a stressful math task while alone or in the presence of a close female friend. The friend condition was designed to be either high or low in evaluation potential. This was achieved by manipulating whether the friend could view the subject’s questions and answers to the math task. Findings indicate that subjects who were assigned to the “non-evaluative” friend condition showed a trend for reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to subjects who were alone during the task. Significant differences only emerged during the last minute of the task. Subjects in the “evaluative” friend condition did not show differences from the other groups on any cardiovascular measure, thereby suggesting that a social support manipulation can fail if evaluative situational elements are not carefully controlled for. The validity of the evaluation vs. non-evaluation distinction was supported by the observation that the friends’ cardiovascular activity level during the task showed significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Specifically, the “non-evaluative” friends showed habituation on these measures during the task, whereas the “evaluative” friends did not habituate, remaining at pre-task levels of response.
Item Metadata
Title |
The impact of "non-evaluative" and "evaluative" friends on cardiovascular reactivity during a stressful math task
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1994
|
Description |
This study was conducted to further examine the role of social support in moderating
cardiovascular reactivity to behavioral stress. Specifically, evaluation potential was
manipulated in order to determine if absence of evaluation is a critical ingredient for the
beneficial effects of support on cardiovascular reactivity. Forty-eight female university
students performed a stressful math task while alone or in the presence of a close female
friend. The friend condition was designed to be either high or low in evaluation potential.
This was achieved by manipulating whether the friend could view the subject’s questions and
answers to the math task.
Findings indicate that subjects who were assigned to the “non-evaluative” friend
condition showed a trend for reduced systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to subjects
who were alone during the task. Significant differences only emerged during the last minute of
the task. Subjects in the “evaluative” friend condition did not show differences from the other
groups on any cardiovascular measure, thereby suggesting that a social support manipulation
can fail if evaluative situational elements are not carefully controlled for. The validity of the
evaluation vs. non-evaluation distinction was supported by the observation that the friends’
cardiovascular activity level during the task showed significant differences in systolic and
diastolic blood pressure. Specifically, the “non-evaluative” friends showed habituation on
these measures during the task, whereas the “evaluative” friends did not habituate, remaining
at pre-task levels of response.
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Extent |
1011189 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-03-04
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0087543
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1994-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.