title: Hostility and facial affect recognition: effects of a cold pressor stressor on accuracy and cardiovascular reactivity.
abstract: The effects of hostility and a cold pressor stressor on the accuracy of facial affect perception were examined in the present experiment. A mechanism whereby physiological arousal level is mediated by systems which also mediate accuracy of an individual's interpretation of affective cues is described. Right-handed participants were classified as high hostile (N = 28) or low hostile (N = 28) using the Cook Medley Hostility Scale. The high-hostile group met joint selection criteria. Only high-hostile participants who showed cardiovascular reactivity to the cold pressor, with systolic BP change exceeding the group mean were included. Groups were further subdivided into cold pressor and non-cold pressor test conditions. It was predicted that high-hostile men, relative to low-hostile men, would show decreased perceptual accuracy when presented with happy, angry, and neutral facial configurations within the left visual field (LVF). Results indicated that high-hostile men were less accurate than low-hostile men in the LVF. Further, pre-stress accuracy scores in the high-hostile men were similar to the post-stress accuracy scores of the low-hostile men. The lateralization of affective function and the role of physiological arousal in affective facial perception are discussed.
authors.affiliation: CAMC Cardiac Rehabilitation, 3200 MacCorkle Ave. S.E., Charleston, WV 25304, USA.
authors.forename: Matt L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Herridge
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Gina A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Mollet
authors.forename: Brian V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Shenal
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology