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Heart Rate and Skin Conductance as Measures of Worrying

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Jagdish K. Dua  and
Debbie A. King
Jagdish K. Dua*
Affiliation:
University of New England
Debbie A. King
Affiliation:
University of New England
*
Department of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale N.S.W. 2351
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Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine if heart rate (HR) and skin conductance increase as a result of worrying and if the increase is greater in worriers than in non-worriers. Ten self-labelled worriers and 10 self-labelled non-worriers were individually interviewed, and a worrying event and a pleasant event were determined for each. The HR and skin resistance were then measured for all subjects when they were calm and quiet, when they imagined a worrying event, and when they imagined a pleasant event. There was no difference in the HR and skin conductance of worriers and non-worriers across the three conditions, namely, baseline, imagination of a worrying event and imagination of a pleasant event. Heart rate increased only as a result of worrying whereas the skin conductance increased both due to worrying and due to the imagination of the pleasant event. The results suggest that HR may be used as a measure of worrying.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , September 1987 , pp. 26 - 32
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1987

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