Self-esteem stability, cynical hostility, and cardiovascular reactivity to challenge

This study investigated the contribution of unstable self-esteem as a predictor of cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) during a challenging and ego-threatening task. A sample of male and female adults monitored self-esteem perceptions multiple times daily to provide self-esteem stability scores. Participants also engaged in a competitive task that involved the rapid mental calculation of complex addition/ subtraction problems. The task was made more stressful through a manipulation in which participants were made aware that their performance was being monitored and evaluated. Self-esteem stability scores and cynicism scores were used as predictors of systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases and heart rate increases. Results obtained through multiple regression analyses revealed that for men, but not for women, self-esteem instability, relative to cynicism, was a better predictor of increases in systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Neither of these predictors accounted for reactivity in our sample of women, despite the fact that women displayed near equivalent levels of reactivity and equivalent degrees of self-esteem instability. Results suggest that, for men, self-esteem instability may play an important role in the prediction of cardiovascular reactivity to threat that is more dramatic than the contribution of cynicism. Results are also discussed relative to the observed gender differences.