The Effect Of Positive And Negative Reinforcement On An Induced Stress Response In University Students

Abstract

IntroductionStress in a university setting is known to poorly affect academic performance, increase blood pressure levels, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the effect of positive and negative reinforcement on students and its ability to induce a stress or physiological response is unknown. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of positive and negative reinforcement on an induced stress response, and how this affects their typing abilities.Methods15 participants (6 male, 9 female) underwent a series of 2 typing tests, with verbal feedback elicited prior to commencing the second test. Participants ages 18 to 22 were recruited from Joseph S. Stauffer Library at Queen’s University and randomly allocated between 3 groups: positive, negative and a control. Blood pressure was measured 5 times across the duration of the 15-minute study for each participant. A one-way ANOVA test was used to identify if there were statistically significant differences between the groups. All analyses were completed using SPSS Version 27.ResultsNegative reinforcement (-11 mmHg) versus control (-5.4 mmHg) elicited a statistically significant increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and rate-pressure product (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, respectively). No significant differences were found between groups in typing test scores, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Qualitative analysis determined that negative feedback decreased confidence while increasing performance; positive reinforcement increased both confidence and performance.ConclusionThe study concluded that positive reinforcement should be implemented in university-level courses as it was found to increase typing performance while decreasing SBP.
 Keywords: reinforcement, stress, blood pressure, typing, students