Differences in Psychophysiological Reactions to Anxiety in Individuals with Varying Trait Anxiety Scores

Abstract

This study investigated the differences in the psychophysiological reaction to anxious situations in individuals with higher (greater than or equal to 40) trait anxiety scores in comparison to those with lower (less than 40) trait anxiety scores. This information may be useful for convenient anxiety treatment options and health trackers toward effectively recording and interpreting physiological data from individuals who are generally more anxious. Ten adults completed an IRB (Institutional Review Board) approved study in which all participants completed the Trait Anxiety Scale (Form Y-2) of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and subsequently underwent four phases of baseline, introduction, virtual reality simulation, and recovery during which EEG (electroencephalogram), heart rate, and skin conductance data was collected. Participants also recorded their self-interpreted anxiety on a scale of 1-10 after each phase of the experiment. The brief introduction phase and virtual reality simulation were designed to elicit mild anxiety. Results show no statistically significance difference in average percent difference in skin conductance or heart rate changes between baseline to introduction, baseline to virtual reality or baseline to recovery between individuals with high (greater than or equal to 40) trait anxiety scores and average or low (less than 40) scores. These findings imply important information that trait anxiety does not necessarily correlate to more severe physiological reactions to anxious situations and confirms that manifestations of anxiety may vary greatly between individuals. Most importantly, evaluative measures for the effectiveness of potential health tracking applications or anxiety treatments would be most effective if perceived anxiety intensities were given more value than solely physiological data.