ABSTRACT
The active-passive coping continuum is undoubtedly one of the fundamental dimensions of human behavior set. The findings for skin conductance, especially differences between phases of the task activity, were quite interesting. Subjects who had large changes in skin conductance had small changes in heart rate. Subjects responding with higher skin conductance to a message announcing an aversive stimulus showed smaller heart rate increase while awaiting the stressor, whereas subjects responding with higher increase in heart rate show smaller skin conductance magnitude. J. A. Gray postulates the existence of three basic systems that control behavior: the behavioral inhibition system, the behavioral approach system, and the fight/flight system. Certain additional conditions must be fulfilled in order for the relationship between cardiovascular and electrodermal activity to appear. The relationship studied seems robust and supports the hypothesis that in certain specifically defined conditions there is an interrelationship between changes in heart rate and electrodermal activity.
