[Investigation of emotional and physiological recovery from tracking tasks].
This study was conducted to investigate subjects' emotional and physiological recovery from tension. Subjects (N = 36) were assigned tracking tasks under three conditions: (1) the "Rest" condition in which subjects were not presented a task but asked to stay relaxed; (2) the "Non-performance" condition in which subjects were presented a task but were not required to perform it; (3) the "Performance" condition in which subjects were required to perform the task. We successively recorded eyeblinks, respiration, and heart rate in the pre-task rest period, during the task, and the post-task rest period. Subjects completed a questionnaire to rate their emotions for each period. Results indicated: that eyeblink rate decreased during the task under the non-performance and the performance condition; that respiratory rate and heart rate increased during the task in the performance conditions; and that during the post-task period these alterations showed a rapid recovery back to initial levels. As for subjective ratings of emotions, various changes were recorded in addition to recovery: "Disappointment" seemed to last long, "activation" recovered, and "tension" rebounded in the post-task period.
Monchi
R
R
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Doshisha University, Kyoto.
Suzuki
N
N
D000328:Adult; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012119:Respiration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors