On the use of physiological measures in assertion research

This study examined the effects of assertion role-play variations on physiological arousal as a function of scene length (single vs. multiple responses), scene type (live prompts, taped prompts, and taped prompts with imaginal responses), and subject type. Subjects who scored in the upper quartile on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-C) and below the median on the Assertion Inventory (AI) discomfort scale became the high-social desirability (SD) group, previously shown to have significant cognitive interference in attempts at assertive behavior. Subjects in the lower two M-C quartiles were subdivided into high- and low-anxious groups on the basis of scores above or below the median on the AI discomfort scale. Heart rate, GSR, and blood pressure were recorded as 36 male and female undergraduates responded to assertion scenes. Multiple-response scenes produced significantly more arousal than single-response scenes. Live prompts produced the most arousal, and imagery the least. During multiple-response scenes with live prompts, high-SD subjects had the largest heart-rate increases, and low-anxious subjects the smallest.