a Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology , University of Rochester , Rochester , NY , USA.
Anxiety Stress Coping. 2019 Jan;32(1):95-108. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2018.1530049. Epub 2018 Oct 8.
Effects of reappraising stress arousal during an interpersonal competition were tested on physiological functioning and performance. Additionally, the moderating role of gender was explored.
Participants (N = 279) were randomly assigned to a stress reappraisal, stress-is-debilitating, or a neutral control condition. Reappraisal materials educated participants about the adaptive benefits of stress, whereas stress-is-debilitating materials instructed participants to avoid stress. Control materials did not mention stress. Participants then competed against a gender-matched confederate on a 10-minute math performance task while cardiovascular reactivity was assessed. Participants were instructed to complete math problems as quickly and accurately as they could and were informed that a winner and loser would be determined by the resulting math scores.
Reappraising stress arousal led to more adaptive challenge-like cardiovascular responses, but no condition effects were observed on math performance. Exploratory analyses revealed that reappraisal instructions were effective for improving physiological functioning and facilitating performance for men, but women were unaffected by the manipulation.
Reappraising stress arousal can improve physiological functioning during interpersonal competitions, but effects may be limited to men. Implications for future research are discussed.
本研究旨在测试在人际竞争中重新评估压力唤醒对生理功能和表现的影响，并探讨性别因素的调节作用。
参与者（N=279）被随机分配到压力重评、压力削弱或中性对照组。重评组的材料教育参与者了解压力的适应性益处，而压力削弱组的材料则指导参与者避免压力。对照组的材料未提及压力。参与者随后与性别匹配的同盟者在 10 分钟的数学表现任务中竞争，同时评估心血管反应。参与者被要求尽可能快和准确地完成数学问题，并被告知将根据最终的数学分数确定胜负。
重新评估压力唤醒导致更适应挑战的心血管反应，但在数学表现方面没有观察到条件效应。探索性分析表明，重评指导对于改善男性的生理功能和促进表现是有效的，但对女性没有影响。
重新评估压力唤醒可以改善人际竞争期间的生理功能，但效果可能仅限于男性。讨论了对未来研究的影响。
