Dispositional behavioral activation: Relationships with cardiovascular activity during anger and sadness

Anger arises when goals are thwarted, but remain potentially attainable, and can motivate persistent engagement in goal pursuit. Sadness occurs when goals appear beyond reach, often leading to disengagement. Variations in engagement, or motivational intensity, are reflected in cardiovascular reactivity. Motivational intensity in goal-relevant situations is subject to regulation by individual differences in dispositions involving behavioral activation (BAS) and inhibition systems (BIS). This study examined whether cardiovascular responses indicative of motivational intensity are influenced by attributes measured by Carver and White's (1994) BAS Drive, BAS Reward Responsiveness, and BIS scales. Anger and sadness were induced on a within-subjects basis using an autobiographical recall task. Cardiovascular measures were systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and heart rate (HR). Post-task affect ratings indicated that the anger-sadness manipulation was successful. As expected, BAS Drive was positively associated with SBP and DBP (but not HR) elevations while participants related an anger-inducing event. Also as expected, this pattern was reversed for sadness, where Drive scores were inversely related to SBP and DBP elevations. Neither Reward Responsiveness nor BIS were associated with cardiovascular reactivity. These findings contribute to understanding of dispositions that influence physiologic activity reflective of motivational intensity in emotional situations.