Positive thinking reduces heart rate and fear responses to speech-phobic imagery.
30 speech-anxious subjects imagined a phobic speech scene 10 times. The experimental conditions varied according to whether the subjects engaged in positive, neutral, or negative thinking prior to each scene presentation. Heart rate and self-reports of fear were measured during the imagery periods. Positive thinking just before visualization of the phobic images reduced both subjective anxiety about speech and cardiovascular responses.
Hu
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Department of Psychology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521.
Bostow
T R
TR
Lipman
D A
DA
Bell
S K
SK
Klein
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013060:Speech; D013850:Thinking