Induced states of anxiety and depression: Effects on self-reported affect and tonic psychophysiological response

Personality, Sex of Participant, and Face-to-Face Interaction Affect Reading of Informed Consent Forms

Students ( N = 183) participated in a study designed to determine if each student read the informed consent form. Approximately 12% of students in the online condition followed the procedure compared with 38% in the laboratory phase. Participants with higher trait worry and those with lower emotion reappraisal were more likely to follow the procedure, while women were more likely to read the form than men. Across conditions, most students do not read informed consent documents, particularly in online formats. These findings of this research support the idea that women tend to be more information-seeking than men in health and research settings and those with higher trait worry tend to read the consent forms to alleviate uncertainty and trust concerns.

Cardiovascular effects of traffic noise: the role of negative self-statements

This study assesses cardiovascular and subjective effects of traffic noise and the mediator role that negative self-statements play. Eighty-four female students underwent a Physiological Reaction Test to two 15 min presentations of high intensity traffic noise (85-95 db) under two noise conditions, with and without negative self-statements. Half of the subjects were given specific instructions to increase the credibility of the self-statements. Dependent variables were heart rate (HR), blood volume pulse amplitude from both temporal arteries and subjective tension. Traffic noise provoked subjective tension and cardiovascular responses that did not habituate either within or between noise presentations. Negative self-statements had the greatest effect on HR. In fact, this response habituated to a second noise presented only when this condition was without negative self-statements. Instructions increased the effect of the self-statements only on the left temporal artery and also increased subjective tension. The implications of this physiological reactivity in psychosomatic problems and the importance of negative self-statements are discussed.

Physiological and subjective effects of traffic noise: the role of negative self-statements

This study assesses physiological and subjective effects of traffic noise and the mediator role that negative self-statements play. 84 female students underwent a Physiological Reaction Test to two 15 min presentations of high intensity traffic noise (85-95 dB) under two Noise conditions--with and without negative self-statements. Half of the subjects were given specific instructions to increase the credibility of the self-statements. Dependent variables were frontal EMG, electrodermal variables (conductance level and number of responses) and subjective tension. Traffic noise provoked subjective tension and physiological responses. Only the number of electrodermal responses habituated between noise presentations, the rest of the physiological variables did not habituate. Negative self-statements had the greatest effect on frontal EMG. In fact, only the noise with negative self-statements condition produced a significant EMG increase in the first part of the Test. Instructions increased subjective tension and also increased the effect of the self-statements on the electrodermal variables. The implications of these results for psychosomatic problems and the importance of negative self-statements are discussed.