26th Annual Student Research Conference
Can Heartfelt Emotion Attenuate the Autonomic Effects of a Math Stressor?
Sandi Bowers*, Yu Men, Ram Golan, and Hannah Rogers
Dr. Fred Shaffer, Faculty Mentor
The present study explored whether the induction of heartfelt emotion (HFE) can protect subjects against the autonomic effects of an experimental stressor. Twenty-four undergraduates (11 male and 13 female), 18 to 22 years of age, participated in this study. In this within-subjects design, participants were randomly assigned to two sequences of 5-minute conditions that were separated by 5-minute buffer periods. Half of the subjects started with the HFE-serial sevens sequence and half with the control-serial sevens sequence. Heartfelt emotion (HFE) was successfully manipulated since HFE scores were higher in the HFE condition than in the control condition. HFE provided no more protection during serial sevens than the control condition for blood pressure, HRV time domain, frequency domain, heart rate, skin conductance, or temperature measurements. These findings do not support the use of HFE to buffer individuals who resemble our students against the autonomic effects of stressors.
Keywords: heart rate variability, positive emotion, respiration, biofeedback
Topic(s):Psychology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 107-1
Location: MG 1000
Time: 8:00