Blunted cardiovascular reactivity during social reward anticipation in subclinical depression

•Effort mobilization during the anticipation of a social reward is assessed.•Subclinically depressed participants show reduced cardiovascular reactivity.•Subclinical depression is associated with impaired responsiveness to social rewards.•Results extend research on monetary rewards.•Results complement research on behavioral and neural measures.

The present study extends past research about reduced reward responsiveness in depression by assessing effort-related cardiovascular responses during anticipation of a social reward. Dysphoric (i.e., subclinically depressed) and nondysphoric participants worked on a cognitive task. Half the participants in each group expected the possibility to subscribe to a social exchange internet site. Effort mobilization during task performance was assessed by participants' cardiovascular reactivity. Confirming the predictions, nondysphoric participants in the social-reward condition had higher reactivity of pre-ejection period, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate, compared to the other three cells. In contrast, dysphoric participants' cardiovascular reactivity was generally low. These findings indicate that social-reward function is indeed impaired in subclinical depression. Implications for social punishment are discussed.