Psychophysiological research on anger

In this article we will focus on the specific emotion of anger and the role of psychophysiological responses associated with this basic emotion. The present study was designed to compare cardiovascular responses during effortful active coping and the emotion of anger and to independently manipulate these two conditions. To assess the hemodynamic mechanisms of cardiovascular reactivity during active coping, anger impedance cardiography was introduced. Sixty-three male students, 20-51 years, participated in this study. During the first treatment period, one group worked on an effortful active coping task (mental arithmetic) and the other group did not (reading task). During the second treatment block, the two groups of the first treatment period were divided into two subgroups, and half of the subjects each were additionally provoked. Results of the present study show profound effect of anger on cardiovascular functioning. The additional measures of various cardiovascular parameters by means of impedance cardiography contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in differential blood pressure increases.