The Impact of Biofeedback-Manipulated Physiological Change on Emotional State

In the present study, subjects were administered 16 biofeedback sessions, during which they were trained to significantly increase and decrease their heart rates. Before and immediately following each biofeedback training session, state anxiety was evaluated in subjects by use of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results indicated that heart-rate slowing performance was associated with a significant decrease in state anxiety; heart-rate speeding performance was associated with an increase in state anxiety. The implications of these findings for further investigation of theories of emotion, and the role played by physiological arousal, are discussed.