%0 Journal Article
%@ 1070-5503
%A Sieverding, Monika
%A Weidner, Gerdi
%A von Volkmann, Bettina
%C New York, NY
%D 2005
%F heidok:19828
%I Springer
%J International journal of behavioral medicine : the official journal of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine
%K cardiovascular reactivity, gender role self-concept, instrumentality, psychosocial stress
%N 1
%P 1-10
%R 10.11588/heidok.00019828
%T Cardiovascular reactivity in a simulated job interview: the role of gender role self-concept
%U https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/19828/
%V 12
%X This study investigated the relation of gender role self-concept (G-SC) to cardiovascular  and emotional reactions to an ecologically relevant stressor in a sample of  graduating male and female university students. Thirty-seven men and 37 women  completed the Personal Attribute Questionnaire and worked on four tasks designed to  reflect common features of a job interview. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured  at baseline, during, and after each task; subjective stress was measured at baseline  and after each task. Subjective and objective stress scores were averaged across  tasks and analyzed by sex and G-SC (i.e., instrumentality, expressiveness). Results indicated  that women as a group demonstrated greater emotional reactivity, but did not  differ in their physiological reactions when compared to men. Regardless of sex, participants’  instrumentality scores contributed significantly to the variation in subjective  stress response: those scoring high on instrumentality reported less stress, but evidenced  greater blood pressure reactivity than those scoring low on instrumentality.  These results suggest that gender roles, particularly an instrumental self-concept,  may play an important role in both subjective and objective reactions to an ecologically  relevant stressor.