Replication and extension of the link between the cardiovascular system and sensitivity to social pain in healthy adults

Resting blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV) are linked to physical pain. Research also shows a link between social pain and physical pain, and an inverse association between resting BP and social pain. However, little is known regarding the relationship between resting HRV and social pain. Therefore, the present study aimed to replicate the link between social pain and physical pain, and the inverse relationship between resting BP and social pain, and explore the relationship between resting HRV and social pain. One-hundred twenty three healthy adults completed 1) resting cardiovascular measurements of BP and low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) HRV powers, 2) social pain sensitivity assessment via the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) and Mehrabian's Sensitivity to Rejection (MSR) scales, and 3) physical pain sensitivity assessment via subjective pain responses during cold pressor test. The results indicated that no association was observed between social pain and physical pain, whereas resting BP was inversely associated with the MSR scores. Resting LF-HRV was inversely associated with social pain, whereas resting HF-HRV was positively associated with social pain. These findings suggest that physical pain and social pain may share biological substrates that are involved in BP regulation and pain control.

Challenge and Threat: A Critical Review of the Literature and an Alternative Conceptualization

In this article, the authors describe a new theory, the Evaluative Space Approach to Challenge and Threat (ESACT). Prompted by the Biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat (BPS: Blascovich and Tomaka, 1996) and the development of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (Jones et al., 2009), recent years have witnessed a considerable increase in research examining challenge and threat in sport. This manuscript provides a critical review of the literature examining challenge and threat in sport, tracing its historical development and some of the current empirical ambiguities. To reconcile some of these ambiguities, and utilizing neurobiological evidence associated with approach and avoidance motivation (c.f. Elliot and Covington, 2001), this paper draws upon the Evaluative Space Model (ESM; Cacioppo et al., 1997) and considers the implications for understanding challenge and threat in sport. For example, rather than see challenge and threat as opposite ends of a single bipolar continuum, the ESM implies that individuals could be (1) challenged, (2) threatened, (3) challenged and threatened, or (4) neither challenged or threatened by a particular stimulus. From this perspective, it could be argued that the appraisal of some sport situations as both challenging and threatening could be advantageous, whereas the current literature seems to imply that the appraisal of stress as a threat is maladaptive for performance. The ESACT provides several testable hypotheses for advancing understanding of challenge and threat (in sport) and we describe a number of measures that can be used to examine these hypotheses. In sum, this paper provides a significant theoretical, empirical, and practical contribution to our understanding of challenge and threat (in sport).