Cardiovascular and Electrodermal Response Patterns in Heart Rate Reactive Individuals During Psychological Stress

The goal of this research was to examine the cardiovascular and electrodermal response patterns of heart rate reactive and nonreactive individuals to psychological stress. Sixty males were tested while resting, listening to tones, identifying tone patterns, and performing mental arithmetic. Dependent variables were blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and skin conductance responses. Based on the change in HR from baseline to the first minute of mental arithmetic, two extreme reactivity groups of 15 subjects each were formed. Results indicated that HR reactive subjects had higher systolic blood pressure and HR than nonreactives. Reactives showed greater HR lability during all the tasks and a phasic acceleration to tones, while nonreactives showed a deceleration. Finally, comparisons of skin conductance responses indicated that subjects who were nonreactive when measuring HR were more reactive when measuring skin conductance. The HR reactivity seen in these subjects has been linked to predisposition to psychosomatic illness, and the current findings are discussed in that light.