Cardiovascular Responses in Experimentally Induced Alterations of Affect

Abstract

Although alterations in emotional arousal have long been associated with changes in cardiovascular dynamics, the precise quantitative relationship has not been fully detailed. Independent assessment of the emotional change was felt to be a necessary component of a quantitatively oriented study. The variously described responses for "anxiety" and "anger" might better be re-explored in such a manner. The emotional arousal was experimentally produced in the laboratory. Measures of pulse, arterial blood pressure, and cardiac output were conducted both before and during the change in affect evoked by the laboratory stimulus.