associated with cardiovascular problems, such as high blood pressure (Jackson,
Kubzansky, Cohen, Jacobs, & Wright, 2007; Jorgensen, Johnson, Kolodziej, &
Schreer, 1996; Martin & Watson, 1997; Powch & Houston, 1996; Raikkonen,Matthews, Flory, & Owens, 1999).
Male participants in one investigation wore a blood pressure monitor for
an entire day (Guyll & Contrada, 1998). The men also kept a record of theiractivities and their moods. As shown in Figure 8.2, participants high in hostil-
ity showed elevated levels of blood pressure when they interacted with other
people, whereas the low hostility participants showed no such reaction.Apparently the high-hostility participants found many of their conversations
frustrating or annoying, and this reaction resulted in higher blood pressure.
Interestingly, the high-hostility women in the study did not have this reaction.Perhaps this is because women generally find social interactions more pleas-
ant and less a source of frustration than do men.
As shown in Table 8.2, the results from numerous studies paint a consis-
tently dangerous picture for those high in hostility (Suinn, 2001). Fortunately,
investigators also have some encouraging findings to report. First, there is ev-
idence that programs designed to help potential cardiovascular victims reduce
their anger responses can be effective (Davidson, Gidron, Mostofsky, &
Trudeau, 2007; Gidron, Davidson, & Bata, 1999; Suinn, 2001). In general,
these programs train anger-prone participants to replace their initial reaction
to frustrating situations with relaxation. Instructors often teach participants
to think about the situation differently. That is, instead of making a small in-
convenience out to be a disaster, participants are taught to keep events in per-
spective and recognize that there are more effective solutions to the problem
than anger. One team of investigators found these training procedures to be
especially effective for drivers whose “road rage ”had gotten so out of hand
they required psychological counseling (Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch, Oetting, &
Salvatore, 2000).120
119
118
117
116
115Systolic Blood PressureNot TalkingTalking
Low-Hostility
ParticipantsHigh-Hostility
Participants
FIGURE 8.2 Blood Pressure Response to Social Interactions
Source: From “Trait hostility and ambulatory cardiovascular activity: Responses to social interaction, ”by
M. Guyll and R. J. Contrada in Health Psychology , 17, 1998, p. 30 –39. Copyright © 1998 by the American
Psychological Association.Type A, Hostility and Health 197