THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEART-RATE RESPONSIVENESS IN THE LABORATORY AND IN THE FIELD - 2 STUDIES

D W JOHNSTON, C VOGELE, P ANASTASIADES, C KITSON, K MCSORLEY, A STEPTOE, Derek Johnston

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The importance of cardiovascular responses to laboratory challenges is, in part, based on the hypothesis that subjects who show large responses in the laboratory also show heightened cardiovascular reactivity in real life. The available evidence on this is mixed, but in three recent studies we have found a relationship between heart rate responses in the laboratory and in the field, particularly when allowance is made for the effects of activity and the autocorrelated nature of field heart rate records.

A further two experiments are reported on the relationship between the heart rate response to various laboratory challenges and heart rate responsiveness in the field. The laboratory stressors were mental arithmetic, mirror drawing, and the cold pressor test. Heart rate in the field was measured continuously for 24 hours, as was activity, derived from the muscle activity of the left thigh. The primary measure of heart rate responsiveness in the field was heart rate variability, estimated from the standard deviation of the heart rate series both before and after allowance was made for the effects of autocorrelation and physical activity. In Experiment 1 no relationship was found between laboratory and field measures of heart rate responsiveness in a sample of 34 young male volunteers. Experiment 2 was on a sample of 57 boys aged between 12 and 14 years. As in Experiment 1 no relationship was found between heart rate responses in the laboratory and the field. These studies failed to confirm the findings from three earlier studies using very similar methods and indicate that there are important sources of unexplained variance in studies of laboratory and field reactivity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)217-229
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Psychophysiology
Volume7
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 1993

Keywords

  • STRESS
  • REACTIVITY
  • ACTIVE COPING
  • HEART RATE
  • AMBULATORY MEASUREMENT
  • LABORATORY FIELD GENERALIZATION
  • ACTIVITY
  • AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE
  • CARDIOVASCULAR-RESPONSES
  • MENTAL STRESS
  • OXYGEN-CONSUMPTION
  • EVERYDAY LIFE
  • VIDEO GAME
  • VARIABILITY
  • HYPERTENSION
  • EXERCISE

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