Cardiovascular Responding during Anger and Fear Imagery

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if visualization of anger- and fear-provoking scenes produced differential physiological patterns similar to those produced by in vivo manipulations. Normotensive college students were selected on the basis of their responses to newly developed Anger and Fear/Anxiety questionnaires and for their ability to construct arousing scenes during a screening interview. In a 2 × 2 design (intensity × emotion), four scenes (high and low anger, high and low fear) were constructed individually for each of 16 subjects to imagine. Diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate were monitored during visualization of each scene. Change in diastolic blood pressure was significantly greater for high anger than for high fear as predicted. Analysis of change in heart rate and systolic blood pressure showed significant effects for intensity only. These results provide further support for the concept of physiological differentiation in human emotion and suggest the utility of imagery for systematic study of human emotional responding.