The relationship between cynical hostility and blood pressure reactivity.

It is hypothesized that high levels of hostility stimulate blood pressure hyperresponsivity to challenge. Seventy-six normotensive adults completed the MMPI hostility subscale, and blood pressure reactivity to, and recovery from, cold pressor and mental arithmetic stressors were measured on two occasions. Only one of twenty Pearson correlations between Cook-Medley hostility and blood pressure reactivity was significant. Analyses of variance revealed that blood pressure reactivity was influenced by sex and family history of cardiovascular disease, but neither factor interacted with hostility. There was no evidence from the present study that cynical hostility as measured by the Cook-Medley was associated with blood pressure reactivity.