Coping with Impending Stress: Psychophysiological and Cognitive Correlates of Choice
Abstract
ABSTRACT When faced with threat of shock, individuals were allowed to choose to distract themselves by listening to Muzak or to monitor cues predicting shock. Preference for monitoring information or for distraction was investigated concurrently with electrodermal and subjective arousal. Subjects preferred to monitor rather than distract themselves, particularly when shock was avoidable. Even when shock was not avoidable, some preference for information was found. Arousal, physiological and subjective, was consistently higher under monitoring conditions, and this was most pronounced when shock was unavoidable. Higher arousal accompanying information is contrary to the three major theories explaining choice of predictable threat, and the outline of a new hypothesis was proposed to account for these data.
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Accommodation may involve an increased readiness to disregard or blunt out problem-related cues when the person believes nothing can be done.
“This may also involve an increased readiness to disregard or ''blunt out'' (Miller, 1979) problem-related cues in situations in which the person believes that nothing can be done about the problem.”
From The Life-Course Dynamics of Goal Pursuit and Goal Adjustment: A Two-Process Framework (2002) · cites this paper as Miller, 1979
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The Life-Course Dynamics of Goal Pursuit and Goal Adjustment: A Two-Process Framework
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- Authors
- Miller, S. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Suzanne M.
- ORCID
- Miller, Suzanne M.
- Venue
- Psychophysiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1979-11
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 572-581
- ISSN
- 0048-5772 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8986
- OpenAlex
- W2085594520
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 1.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychophysiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- threat anticipation, subjective arousal, Muzak, shock avoidance, cognitive appraisal
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Arousal, Choice Behavior, Electroshock, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Humans, Stress, Physiological
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