Stigmas, Stereotypes, Threat, and Cardiovascular Disease Jim Blascovich University of California, Santa Barbara UC-Intercampus Health Psychology Conference Center December 2, 2000

Collaborators Wendy Mendes Sarah Hunter Mark Seery Brian Lickel Neneh Kowai-Bell

Key Motivational States Challenge when personal resources roughly equal or outweigh situational demands Threat when situational demands outweigh personal resources.

Demand Components Danger Uncertainty Required Effort

Resource Components Knowledge, skills, & abilities Dispositions External Support

Affective (Emotional) Evaluation Challenge/ Threat Performance Situation Cognitive (Semantic) Evaluation

(Dienstbier, 1989) Physiological Toughness neuro-endocrine system states physiological toughness physiological (weakness)

Physiological Toughness SAM Axis Neural Response sympathetic neural stimulation of the myocardium enhancing cardiac performance particularly contractility Endocrine Response adrenal medullary release of epinephrine causing vasodilation resulting in a systemic decline in vascular resistance Benign

Physiological Weakness PAC Axis Neural sympathetic neural stimulation of the myocardium enhancing cardiac performance Endocrine pituitary adrenal cortical inhibition of adrenal medullary release of epinephrine and norepinephrine resulting in little change or even increases in systemic vascular resistance Malignant

Key Motivational States Challenge--when resources roughly equal or outweigh demands indexed by Dienstbier’s pattern of physiological toughness Threat--when demands outweigh resources. indexed by Dienstbier’s pattern of physiological weakness

Motivated Performance Situations goal relevant require instrumental cognitive responses to “active coping” tasks minimally metabolically demanding

Examples of Motivated Performance Situations Taking Exams Decision Making Giving Speeches Playing Games Interviews Many Social Exchanges

Validational Studies correlational experimental manipulated physiology

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Correlational (Tomaka, Blascovich, Kelsey, & Leitten, 1996)

Validational Studies (see Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996, for a review). correlational experimental manipulated physiology

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experimental Manipulation (Sarah Hunter, 2000)

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experimental Manipulation (Mendes, Blascovich, Weisbuch, Seery, in prep)

Validational Studies (see Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996, for a review). correlational experimental manipulated physiology

NO EFFECTS!

Application of Indexes Attitudes (Blascovich, et al., 1993) Dispositions (Tomaka & Blascovich, 1994; Tomaka et al, 1999) Social Support (Allen & Blascovich, 1991, 1999) Social Facilitation (Blascovich, Mendes, Hunter & Lickel, 1999) Social Comparison (Mendes, Blascovich, Major, & Seery, under review)

Stigma and Threat Many theorists assume that perceivers are threatened by bearers of social stigmas Little evidence to support this basic theoretical assumption problems with past attempts at physiological measures problems with other types of measures especially self-report

Social Interaction Paradigm Partner a participant with a confederate who is either stigmatized or not stigmatized Immerse them in dyadic motivated performance situations Record physiological (cardiovascular) response marking challenge and threat

Procedures Participant and confederate meet and exchange background information Participant and confederate are separated and physiological sensors applied and baseline recordings made (of participant) Participants engage in a one or two tasks

Speech

Cooperative Wordfinding Task

Measures (all continuous) Impedance Cardiographic pre-ejection period (PEP) = contractile force cardiac-output (CO) = blood volume per minute Electrocardiographic electrocardiogram (ECG) Hemodynamic mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) Vascular total peripheral resistance (TPR)

Stigma-Threat Studies (Perceiver) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark

Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press)

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experiment 1- Speech Delivery Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press) Number of Words Generated Experiment 1- Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Stigma-Threat Studies (Perceiver) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 2 -- Facial Birthmark

Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Total Peripheral Resistance Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) Cardiac Output (L/m) Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experiment 2 - Word Finding Task Blascovich et al. (in press)

Blascovich et al. (in press) Number of Words Generated Experiment 2 Blascovich et al. (in press)

Stigma-Threat Studies (Perceiver) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 2 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 3 -- Race & SES (males)

Blascovich et al. (in prep) TPR CO PEP Experiment 3 - Speech Blascovich et al. (in prep)

Blascovich et al. (in prep) TPR CO PEP TPR CO PEP Experiment 3 - Speech Blascovich et al. (in prep)

Experiment 3 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep) TPR CO PEP Experiment 3 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep)

Experiment 3 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep) TPR CO PEP TPR CO PEP Experiment 3 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep)

Stigma-Threat Studies (Perceiver) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 2 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 3 -- Race & SES (males) Experiment 4 -- Race & SES (females)

Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press) TPR CO PEP Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press) TPR CO PEP TPR CO PEP Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) b = -1.2 b = 3.9** Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press)

Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep) Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) b = .21t Cardiac Output (L/m) b = -1.2 b = 3.9** Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in prep)

Total Peripheral Resistance b = .07 Pre-ejection Period (sec*-1) b = .21t Cardiac Output (L/m) b = -1.2 b = 3.9** b = -58.6* b = -18.2 Total Peripheral Resistance (Resistance Units) Experiment 4 - Word Finding Blascovich et al. (in press)

Effect Size Summary .16 -- .10 .18 .05 .33 .20 .27 .30 .18 .15 Speech Wordfinding Exp. 1 Exp. 2 Exp. 3 Race Status Exp. 4 .16 -- .10 .18 .05 .33 .20 .27 .30 .18 .15

Stigma-Threat Studies (Bearer) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark

TPR Cardiovascular Reactivity from the first minute of Speech Delivery by Perceptions of Stigmatization msec* -1 CO PEP TPR dyne-s*cm-5 Mendes & Blascovich, in prep. Cohen’s d = .61; Multivariate F = 2.78, p < .03

Stigma-Threat Studies (Bearer) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 2 -- Race

Cardiovascular Reactivity during the first minute of the Word-Finding by Race of Participant (all cooperating with a White evaluator) msec* -1 CO PEP TPR dyne-s*cm-5 Mendes & Blascovich, in prep. Cohen’s d = .52; Multivariate F = 4.15, p < .002

Stigma-Threat Studies (Bearer) Experiment 1 -- Facial Birthmark Experiment 2 -- Race Experiment 3 -- Stereotype Threat

Blascovich, Spencer, Quinn, & Steele, in press Stereotype Threat Theory Rationale Design Procedures Results

Blascovich, Spencer, Quinn, & Steele, in press

Implications Stigmas are threatening. perceivers bearers Interactions involving members of stigmatized groups likely to be aversive to individuals involved psychologically cardiovascular health likely to lead to negatively toned behaviors

Implications for Stigma Interventions decreasing demand evaluations danger uncertainty required effort increase resource evaluations knowledge, skills, and abilities dispositions external support