Cardiovascular incentive effects where a challenge is unfixed: Demonstrations involving social evaluation, evaluator status, and monetary reward

Abstract

Cardiovascular effects of social evaluation, evaluator status, and monetary reward were examined in participants presented with a challenge that allowed them to work as hard as they pleased (unfixed conditions) or called for a low level of effort (fixed conditions). In Experiment 1, evaluation was found to potentiate systolic pressure and heart rate responses insofar as the evaluator had status where the challenge was unfixed, but to have no impact on the responses where the challenge was fixed. In Experiment 2, reward value was found to potentiate the responses where the challenge was unfixed, but not where it was fixed. The main findings confirm and extend results from a previous experiment, and broaden the base of empirical support for the suggestion that active coping will be proportional to success importance where performance is unconstrained.