School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2024 Apr;61(4):e14486. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14486. Epub 2023 Nov 16.
Imagery has been associated with cardiovascular and psychological responses to stress; however, the mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. The present study examined if the ability to image mastering challenging or difficult situations moderated the relationship between heart rate reactivity and perceptions of stress and physiological arousal experienced during acute stress. Four hundred and fifty-eight participants completed a standardized laboratory stress protocol with heart rate being measured throughout. After completing an acute psychological stress task, participants rated how stressed and physiologically aroused they felt (i.e., intensity) and whether they perceived the stress and physiological arousal as being helpful/unhelpful to performance (i.e., interpretation). Mastery imagery ability was assessed by questionnaire. Moderation analyses controlling for gender demonstrated that imagery ability moderated the relationship between heart rate reactivity and interpretation of stress (β = 0.015, p = .003) and perceived physiological arousal (β = 0.013, p = .004). Simple slope analysis indicated that in those with higher imagery ability, heart rate reactivity was associated with stress and arousal being perceived as more positive toward performance. Imagery ability did not moderate the relationship between heart rate reactivity and perceived stress intensity or physiological arousal intensity (p's > .05), but imagery ability did predict lower perceived stress intensity (β = -0.217, p < .001) and perceived physiological arousal intensity (β = -0.172, p < .001). Higher mastery imagery ability may possibly help individuals perceive responses to stress as more beneficial for performance and thus be an effective coping technique.
意象与对压力的心血管和心理反应有关；然而，这种关联的机制尚不完全清楚。本研究考察了在急性压力下，想象掌握具有挑战性或困难情况的能力是否调节了心率反应性与压力和生理唤醒的感知之间的关系。458 名参与者完成了一项标准化的实验室应激方案，整个过程中都测量了心率。完成急性心理应激任务后，参与者对自己的压力和生理唤醒程度（即强度）以及对压力和生理唤醒对表现的帮助/不帮助程度（即解释）进行了评分。通过问卷评估掌握意象能力。性别控制的调节分析表明，意象能力调节了心率反应性与对压力的解释（β=0.015，p=0.003）和对感知生理唤醒的关系（β=0.013，p=0.004）。简单斜率分析表明，在那些具有较高意象能力的人中，心率反应性与将压力和唤醒感知为对表现更有利有关。意象能力并未调节心率反应性与感知压力强度或生理唤醒强度之间的关系（p>0.05），但意象能力确实预测了感知压力强度较低（β=-0.217，p<0.001）和感知生理唤醒强度较低（β=-0.172，p<0.001）。更高的掌握意象能力可能有助于个体将对压力的反应感知为对表现更有益，因此是一种有效的应对技术。
