Effects of feedback and imagery on deceleration of heart rate

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 17 - 26
• Main Authors: ICHII, Masaya, NEDATE, Kaneo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology 1988
• Subjects: biofeedback; cognitive strategy; HR; HR decelerating; imagery
• ISSN: 0289-2405; 2185-551X
• DOI: 10.5674/jjppp1983.6.17

Effects of instructed imagery and/or feedback on the deceleration of heart rate (HR) were investigated using 28 male and female undergraduate students. The experiment consisted of one pretest, three training and one posttest sessions. In the pre and posttest sessions all subjects were instructed to decrease HR without imagery, and in the three training sessions they were asked to do so under one of the four conditions, (a) no feedback-no imagery (control), (b) no feedback-imagery, (c) feedback-no imagery, and (d) feedback-imagery. It was found that (1) only the feedback-imagery condition tended to have an effect on decelerating HR, (2) subjects who had the no feedback-no imagery condition showed a decrease in HR in the posttest session but not in the training sessions, and (3) a continuous use of appropriate cognitive strategies was required to decrease HR. These results were discussed in relation to the intrinsic nature of feedback stimulus such as to increase a level of arousal, and also to the possibility that subjects may have been aquainted with various strategies relevant to lower HR before the experiment.