Biofeedback-assisted relaxation in the control of reactions to a challenging task and anxiety-provoking film

Abstract

This experiment was designed to evaluate the use of a combined relaxation- and biofeed-back-training procedure in the regulation of psychophysiological reactivity to laboratory stressors. Twenty volunteers participated in the 3-session experiment, comparing relaxation plus skin conductance biofeedback (Training) with simple instructions to relax (Control). During Session 1. subjects tried to solve a series of visual puzzles and watched an anxiety-provoking film, and were then assigned to treatments on the basis of electrodermal reactions to the film. The relaxation methods were practised in Sessions 2 and 3. and were followed by a second film excerpt and series of tasks. Heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL) and ratings of tension and relaxation were recorded throughout. No differences in physiological or self-report variables emerged during quiet relaxation. However, during the post-treatment administration of Stressors, SCL was augmented in the Control group, while remaining near pre-treatment values in the Training condition. This effect was confined to SCL, since HR and self-reported tension did not distinguish the groups post-treatment.