1 THE AUTONOMIC PHYSIOLOGY OF TERROR MANAGEMENT ...

As mentioned, however, this connection may be more complicated than that
between state self-esteem and state vagal tone. For one, the notion of trait vagal tone
seems less clear than that of trait self-esteem. An index of tonic vagal tone gathered from
several minutes of resting EKG data does not necessarily provide an index of trait vagal
tone, and though taken during resting conditions, may still be better thought of as state
vagal tone (just as if we assess state self-esteem during resting conditions we may not
acquire an accurate index of trait self-esteem). Further, we can ask a person what their
self-esteem is like generally or dispositionally, but there is no way to get from several
minutes of EKG data what a person’s vagal tone looks like dispositionally. Perhaps we
need state vagal tone measurements over the course of weeks or months or years to get an
accurate assessment of trait vagal tone that in turn would allow for assessing the link with
trait self-esteem. In any event, investigating triat vagal tone seems more complicated than
investigating state vagal tone. Thus linking it to other constructs also seems more
complicated.
The connection between trait self-esteem and trait vagal tone may be further
complicated because trait self-esteem also appears more difficult to investigate and link
to other constructs than state self-esteem. Trait self-esteem may be defined not only by its
level, but by other characteristics such as its stability and contingencies. Thus, if trait
self-esteem promotes trait vagal tone, then these various facets of trait self-esteem should
also affect trait vagal tone. Hence the relationship between trait self-esteem and trait
vagal tone seems complicated by trait self-esteem’s various components. In sum, both
trait self-esteem and trait vagal tone appear more complicated to investigate and measure
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