A social stimulus ("good") was paired with positive biological reinforcement (candy, brownies, cigarettes) over a series of sessions for 3 wk. in an attempt to establish "good" as an effective modifier of verbal behavior in chronic psychiatric patients. A pre-and posttreatment verbal conditioning task was used to assess changes in animal noun operant rate as a consequence of the conditions present during this intervening period. Control groups receiving only the social stimulus during treatment (Group d), only biological reinforcement presented noncontingently (Group Cj), and receiving no intervening treatment (Group Ca) were used.
Alpha wave production has been related to affective and physiological arousal states since Berger's (1929) initial research. More recently, the possibility of subjects' control of alpha production has been investigated via the innovation of biofeedback procedures. Research conducted by Kamiya in the 1960s and others led to the early conclusion that alpha-wave production could be controlled and that such control could facilitate enhancement of a person's state of physical and psychological well-being. Subsequent research data have questioned these conclusions. The present study focused upon alpha-wave production with or without a procedure for relaxation called "open-focus training." Twenty subjects were divided into four equal groups and seen for three 20-min. sessions. Results suggested a deterioration of alpha production with all groups combined, no significant differences between the biofeedback and no biofeedback control groups (without "open-focus training"), and greater decrease in alpha production during each session in the "open-focus" groups (with or without biofeedback). These unusual results and their implications are discussed.
From a pool of female college students who volunteered and took the modified Jenkins Survey (Form T), 22 subjects were classified as Type A (scores of 11 or above) or as Type B (scores of 5 or below). Subjects were subdivided into six groups (Type A/B) as control, biofeedback/relaxation, or biofeedback/relaxation with competitive set. EMG (frontalis muscle tension) scores were assessed over five blocks of five trials. Pre- and postanxiety self-report measures were also obtained for all subjects. Analysis suggested an interaction of Type (A or B) with set (competitive only). EMG scores indicated that Type A subjects were more tense and remained more tense than Type B subjects under a competitive set. EMG tension scores diminished over trials for all groups. Pre- and postanxiety scores indicated a reduction in self-reported state anxiety for all groups combined, but no differential reductions with respect to group, condition, or set.
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