Mean recovery rate: A simple measure of recovery uncontaminated by the carryover effect

Abstract

Assessment of recovery is important for the investigation of stress but has been compounded by difficulties, in particular contamination by the carryover effect. In the present study, the mean recovery rate (MRR) was used in order to overcome this difficulty. First, the validity of the MRR was demonstrated theoretically. Second, it was demonstrated experimentally, when a comparison was made with the validity of the mean recovery per se. In the experiment, data on beat-by-beat systolic blood pressure, obtained from 18 participants before, during, and after mental arithmetic, were used as a typical sample. The implications of these results for the understanding of recovery measures are discussed. © Japanese Psychological Association 2009.