Nonveridical heart rate feedback and emotional attribution

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of nonveridical heart rate feedback on perceived affect and actual heart rate change. Dentally anxious subjects were presented with either increasing or decreasing nonveridical heart rate feedback while they were viewing a videotape of a provocative dental procedure. Dentally anxious males in the decrease condition responded to the dental procedure with less unpleasantness than did dentally anxious males in the increase condition. No comparable effect was found for females. In addition, subjects in the decrease condition demonstrated a small decrease in actual heart rate across dental segments, whereas subjects in the increase condition demonstrated a small increase in actual heart rate across dental segments. These findings are discussed in terms of a cognitive appraisal theory of emotion and a mechanism that may account for the effects of veridical feedback on perceived affect. © 1982, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.