The influence of various types of control on anxiety responses

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Behavior Therapy Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 81 - 91
• Main Authors: SEIWA, Hidetoshi, Yokoyama, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies( JABCT ) 30.09.1990; 一般社団法人 日本認知・行動療法学会
• Subjects: anxiety; heart rate; probability of desired outcome; self administration; 不安; 回避確率; 心拍変化; 自己管理
• ISSN: 0910-6529; 2424-2594
• DOI: 10.24468/jjbt.16.2_81

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of various types of control on anxity responses. Fifty-four subjects were paired, and were randomly assigned into the four experimental groups varied in the probabilities of self-administration and desired outcome. These groups were named, respectivly, SELF (N=9), OTHER (N=11), OR (N=10), and AND (N=11). The subjects were initially asked to state their preference for the four avoidance conditions by the method of paired comparisons. After the collections of preference data, the subjects were connected in a series circuit and their anticipatory arousal was measured by physiological and subjective indices while waiting for a controllable or an uncontrollable electrical shock under their avoidance conditions An experimental session consisted of two types of anticipatory periods, the first being the period while waiting for press the button (30 seconds), and the second being while waiting for the onset of electrical shock (30 seconds). The results were as follows ; In preference, AND was the most aversive of the four grouqs, and SELF was more preferred than OTHER. A significant difference among four groups meant that the subjects preferred the condition in which higher probabilities of desired outcome and self-administration were expected. But in anticipatory arousal, SELF was higher than the three other conditions, and OTHER was lower significantly than that of AND and OR in both physiological and subjective indices. The level of anticipatory arousal was not determined soley by the probability of desired outcome nor self-administration. The effect of personal control on antici patory arousal might depend upon whether a better outcome would be expected commensurate with increased costs which were involved in self-abministration or not.