Effect of Communication Ability on Cardiovascular Reactivity to a Speech Task

Objectives To assess whether individuals with different levels of communication ability react differently to a speech task with regards to their cardiovascular responses, and whether communication ability has a buffering effect for cardiovascular reactivity. Methods Fifty-six female undergraduate students assessed as either high or low in communication ability on the re-standardised version of the Norton Communicator Style Questionnaire participated. After an initial resting period where baseline measures of heart rate and blood pressure were established, participants were exposed to a speech stressor which required them to prepare (3 minutes) and deliver (5 minutes) a speech about a hypothetical situation. Heart rate and blood pressure measures were recorded throughout. Results The speech task was successful in eliciting stress for all cardiovascular parameters, such that heart rate and blood pressure increased during the speech task (P=0.000). No significant interaction effects were found for effective communication ability on any of the cardiovascular measures (P> 0.05), and no significant differences were observed between high and low effective communicators on pulse or blood pressure reactivity (P> 0.05). Regarding dominant communication ability, no significant interaction effects were found for any of the cardiovascular measures (P> 0.05), nor were any significant differences observed between high and low dominant communicators on pulse or blood pressure reactivity (P> 0.05). Conclusions While the speech task was effective in eliciting stress, no stress buffering effects were found for communication ability. This suggests that the stress response was moderated by some other variable. Trait anxiety, extraversion/introversion, communication apprehension, and evaluation apprehension may have influenced the degree of reactivity. Further studies are needed to examine the role of communication ability in cardiovascular reactivity