Cardiac and somatic activation in the continuous perceptual-motor task: the significance of threat and serious-mindedness.
The significance of serious-mindedness and task-contingent threat for cardiac and somatic activation were tested in a mixed design. Ten serious-minded and 10 playful state-dominant subjects were recruited from a larger sample to form extreme-groups according to their responses to the Telic Dominance Scale. They all performed a continuous perceptual-motor task with and without threat of aversive electric shock as punishment for inferior performance (counterbalanced). Results supported the following conclusions: serious-mindedness was associated with passive forearm EMG activity, whereas playfulness was related to active forearm EMG activity. Threat of shock interacted with serious-mindedness to cause particularily high HR with threat versus low HR in the no-threat treatment. Error-scores and scores on perceived task difficulty did not explain group differences in physiological activation. The results were discussed in relation to a hypothesis of cardiac-somatic uncoupling during effortful active coping, the pyramidal and extrapyramidal pathways to the skeletal muscles, and to effort expended in the serious-minded and playful motivational states.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004576:Electromyography; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000502:physiology; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D010551:Personality; D005082:Physical Exertion; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*