The role of challenging incentives in feedback-assisted heart rate reduction for coronary-prone adult males.

Three experiments were performed to study the influence of challenging incentives on feedback-assisted heart rate reduction for coronary-prone (Type A) and non-coronary-prone (Type B) males. In the first experiment, when subjects were given a competitive instructional set, Type As were significantly more successful relative to Type Bs in reducing their heart rate; with a noncompetitive set, Type Bs were significantly more successful than were Type As. In the second experiment, when told that heart rate reduction was a scarce ability, Type As reduced heart rate significantly better than did Type Bs; when told that heart rate reduction was a common ability, Type Bs achieved significantly greater heart rate reduction than did Type As. In the third experiment, when heart rate reduction was described as being instrumental to time-urgency (i.e., getting more done in less time), Type As reduced heart rate significantly better than did Type Bs; when heart rate reduction was described as being instrumental to relaxation, Type Bs were significantly better able to reduce heart rate. In all three studies, the incentives had no effect on heart rate when feedback was not provided. The results are discussed as support for the notion that Type A behavioral pattern characteristics can be exploited to reduce Type A symptoms. Implications for how coronary-prone individuals may be challenged to modify symptoms within the clinical setting are discussed.

Feedback in pulse rate change and divergent affective reactions for high and low sensation-seekers.

The present investigation examined the relationship between affect and pulse rate (PR) change for individuals with different sensation-seeking preferences. Based on their scores on the Sensation-Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964), high (HSS) and low (LSS) sensation-seekers were assigned randomly to either 40 minutes of feedback or nofeedback in PR. Subjects were instructed either to decrease or to increase PR. Measures of affect were administered after the 40-minute period. The results indicated that while feedback caused subjects to change PR in either direction, HSS subjects were more successful at increasing, while LSS subjects were more successful at decreasing. Moreover, negative affect resulted only when HSS subjects decreased and LSS subjects increased PR. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of considering individual differences in preference for activation in order to clarify the relationship between physiological and affective responses.

Perceived control: bogus pulse rate feedback and reported symptom reduction for individuals with accumulated stressful life events.

The present investigation tested the hypothesis that perceived control reduces reported symptom incidence for individuals with stressful life events. Subjects (undergraduate psychology students from an urban university) were divided into two groups, high and low in stress, based on their life change unit scores as measured by the Schedule of Recent Events (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). Subjects participated in a study in which they attempted to reduce pulse rate (PR) and were informed of their successes (i.e., PR reductions) through bogus feedback. High and low stress subjects were assigned randomly to one of the following conditions: bogus ascending success feedback (AS), wherein successes were concentrated more in the later stage of a PR reduction period; bogus equally distributed success feedback (EDS), wherein successes were equally distributed in the early and later stages of a PR reduction period; or no feedback (NF). The study consisted of three sessions held on 3 consecutive days. Each session consisted of a 3-minute baseline (nonfeedback) period followed by a 10-minute PR reduction period. Self-reports on 13 symptom items were measured 2 weeks before the study (pretest), after the final session of the study (posttest), and 3 weeks after the study (follow-up). Results indicated that on 5 of the 13 symptom items, the AS condition produced a significant reduction in reported symptom incidence for high-stress subjects only, and this effect was maintained for 3 weeks after the experiment. Results are discussed in terms of the effect perceived control may have on perceptions of physical health. Suggestions are made regarding the use of biofeedback treatment as a method by which perceptions of symptom distress may be reduced for individuals exposed to cumulative stressful experiences.