Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

The present investigation compared the effectiveness of an audible relaxation strategy and a subliminal suggestion strategy for lowering blood pressure in a normotensive population. These strategies were compared with each other and with a control group. Data were obtained from 108 females and 37 males on: 1) baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure; and 2) end of treatment systolic and diastolic blood pressure.It was anticipated that if there was a difference between group means on the dependent measures, the difference would occur between 1) the audible relaxation instruction and the control conditions, and 2) the subliminal suggestion and the control conditions. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine pretreatment equivalence of blood pressure in the three treatment groups. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance was used to test for statistical significance on the end of treatment data.The findings revealed that neither treatment strategy was more effective than the other, nor more effective than the control group at the end of treatment. Even though there were slight reductions from pretreatment blood pressure to end of treatment blood pressure in each group, there were no significant differences among groups. The validity and generalizability of these findings were discussed in light of previous research. Recommendations were made for further research.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of induced anxiety and induced relaxation upon the performance of subjects on the Personal Orientation Inventory. More specifically the study proposed to ascertain if there were any significant differences in POI test performance among subjects exposed to induced anxiety, induced relaxation, and "normal" conditions prior to responding to the POI.The subjects for this study were enrolled in Human Development (Psychology 230) Sections A and B - at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, during the study, Eighty-five subjects (men and women) from the original population of 124 participated in the study. The 85 subjects comprised three randomly selected groups: experimental group #1 (26 subjects) which was exposed to anxiety arousing experiences; experimental group #2 (29 subjects) which was exposed to the relaxation experiences; and group #3 (30 subjects) which was exposed to a "normal" class discussion and operated as a control group. Each of the groups was then administered the POI immediately after participating in their respective experiences. In determining the effects of induced anxiety and induced relaxation upon the performance of subjects on the POI, 14 variables (POI scale scores) were analyzed to determine if the performance of anxious or relaxed subjects varied from that of the control group. A simple one-way analysis of variance revealed a significant difference at the .05 level of confidence on the Feeling Reactivity scale. Further analysis utilizing Duncan's Multiple Range Test showed that the significant difference was between the relaxed group and the control group which was administered the POI under "normal" conditions. This difference indicated a significantly greater responsiveness to needs and feelings on the part of the relaxed group. Otherwise, no significant differences at the .05 per cent level were found, and the remaining null hypotheses were accepted.A secondary analysis of data comparing men to men and women to women on the 14 variables (POI scale scores) was also made. No significant differences were found between the homogeneous groups. The results obtained in the present study indicated that the Personal Orientation Inventory was highly resistant to the effects of mood or response set. It seemed to measure an underlying or identifiable self-structure which was not significantly influenced by induced anxiety and induced relaxation. The study therefore lends support to the use of the POI as a measure of positive mental health in a variety of settings and under a variety of testing situations where subjects present differing moods or response sets.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of group thermal biofeedback training and relaxation as a means of changing locus of control. Additionally, the stability of the locus of control change, over time, was examined. Lastly, the proportion of achievement motivation which can be explained by locus of control was determined.Forty-nine ninth grade students were randomly assigned to biofeedback training, relaxation, or control. The nine treatment sessions were of 20 minutes duration and the students in the biofeedback group used mercury thermometers. Autogenic phrases were read as they attempted to increase their skin surface temperature. The relaxation group received the identical autogenic phrases as the biofeedback group, while the control group observed films during the treatment session.After the completion of the treatment, subjects were administered the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children and the Junior Index of Motivation (JIM) Scale.Hypothesis #1, which stated that the biofeedback group would change its locus of control toward internality, was rejected (P .7736). Hypothesis #2, which stated that the mean locus of control score for the biofeedback group would be significantly more internal than either the relaxation or control group, was similarly rejected (p .6353 and p .7736, respectively). Since the biofeedback group did not become more internal. Hypothesis #3, which was concerned with the stability of a shift in locus of control, was not tested. The multiple regression analysis resulted in an R of .4296 (p .0037). This suggests that a significant proportion of achievement motivation can be explained by locus of control. Males tended to score more internal than females, regardless of treatment, but not to a significant degree (p .0520). The biofeedback group had significantly increased their skin temperature as a result of the biofeedback ( p .001). It was concluded that while group thermal biofeedback training was effective in teaching the subjects to voluntarily control their skin surface temperature, it was not effective in altering their locus of control. Recommendations were made regarding using smaller group size or individual training, and pre-testing for initial locus of control levels to identify those with more external locus of control.

The present investigation compared the effectiveness of an autogenic feedback strategy and a Yoga-meditation strategy on the self-regulation of blood pressure. These strategies were compared with each other and with two control groups. Data were obtained from 19 males and 21 females on: 1) baseline and end of treatment pre-practice systolic blood pressure; 2) baseline and end of treatment pre-practice diastolic blood pressure; 3) baseline and end of treatment Medication Index; and 4) baseline and end of treatment Severity Index.It was anticipated that if there were an overall difference between group means on any of the dependent measures, the differences would occur between 1) the autogenic feedback strategy andthe control conditions, and 2) the Yoga-meditation strategy and the control conditions.A univariate analysis of variance was performed on the baseline data to insure that the groups were not statistically different at the start of treatment. A univariate analysis o variance was performed on the end of treatment data.The findings revealed that neither treatment strategy was more effective than the other, or more effective than the control groups at the end of treatment. The analysis of variance was performed on pre-practice measures which reflect "walking around" blood pressure comparable baseline measures. Even though there were moderate reductions in all four groups on pre-practice blood pressure levels and on the Medication and Severity Indices, the differences between groups were not significant. The validity and generalizability of these findings were discussed in light of previous research. Recommendations for further research were made.

Most of the recent research in the area of subliminal perception has centered on the visual mode of stimulus presentation. The preponderance of that research is concerned with a technique that is hypothesized to stimulate the activation of an unconscious symbiotic merging fantasy which is purported to have an ameliorative effect on pathology. The present study explored the possibility of a merging-like fantasy activation through auditory subliminal means utilizing a population, of 30 VA inpatients with the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. In a double blind procedure, the subjects received three successive treatments with scores analyzed for significance by multivariate and trend analysis. Dependent variables consisted of Form X-1 of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the physiological measure of skin temperature. It was hypothesized that the auditory mode of psychodynamic activation would prove effective and that there would be a significant reduction in state anxiety. The results of this study did not support the specific effectiveness of auditory subliminal psychodynamic activation for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Self-report of perceived state anxiety decreased significantly for both the treatment and control groups as measured by the STAI, and there was a significant trend in the temperature data for both groups. There were, however, no significant differences between the two groups.

In 1958, Joseph Wolpe published a formal statement on psychotherapy by reciprocal inhibition. The basis for this statement is simply that two incompatible responses cannot occur at the same time. Relaxation and anxiety are two such incompatible responses.Subsequent to this statement it has been demonstrated that the process of systematic desensitization is an effective means of replacing anxiety responses with relaxation responses. Wolpe argues that a client must be able to induce deep relaxation on cue in order for the process of systematic desensitization to be effective. In order to reach this end subjects are trained in deep muscular relaxation after the method described by Jacobson.After the subject has learned the relaxation response, he is exposed to a graduated series of anxiety producing stimuli. If the relaxation response has been well learned, stimuli which previously have been anxiety arousing will become associated with relaxation. When this has occurred, the debilitating effects of anxiety are removed, and the subject is free to operate in a constructive manner.The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of immediate feedback during relaxation training on the process of systematic desensitization. In addition the study undertook an examination of the galvanic skin response record which was collected during relaxation training.It was believed if subjects through feedback could be taught to quickly and deeply induce relaxation that the systematic desensitization process would be improved.A review of the literature included the following areas: 1) traditional systematic desensitization, 2) group systematic desensitization, 3) relaxation training, 4) use of physiological feedback, and 5) standardized hierarchies.Subjects were nineteen students enrolled in introductory speech classes during the first five-week summer session in 1971 at Ball State University. All persons who took part in the study described themselves as experiencing anxiety in the speech giving situation.In pretest and posttest sessions all subjects were administered Paul's adaptation of Gilkinson's Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker to assess their feelings about performing in the speech situation before a group. In addition, in order to measure general anxiety level, five subtests of the Objective-Analytic Anxiety Battery (1960) published by the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing were administered.Subjects were divided into three groups: Group I received individual relaxation training with feedback of the galvanic skin response followed by group systematic desensitization; Group II received relaxation training without feedback of galvanic skin response followed by group systematic desensitization, and Group III received no treatment.An analysis of covariance was used to assess change in anxiety level as measured by the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker and the Objective-Analytic Anxiety Battery. If the analysis of covariance indicated that significant differences did exist, a Scheffe statistic was applied to determine which group differed from which other group or groups.Results indicate that no significant differences existed between groups as measured by the Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker. On four of the five subtests of the Objective-Analytic Anxiety Battery no significant differences existed. On one subtest which purports to measure anxiety through ergic tension members of both Group I and Group II had a greater reduction (less than the .05 level) than did members of Group III.Discussion of the findings included the fact that although significant differences did not exist on six of the seven measures, there was movement in the hypothesized direction on five of the seven measures. Recommendations for further study were included.

Residual stress distributions in injection moulded polystyrene plaques have been computed using various calculation methods based on procedures from the literature. Some of the mathematical procedures have been extended to provide improved analysis of the process. The results have been compared with measured distributions obtained using the layer removal technique. The purpose of this work was to resolve some of the disagreements between the measured residual stress distributions in injection moulded parts and those predicted by computations made in the literature. The calculations are made using the general purpose software "Mathcad". Various temperature, time and pressure dependent material models have been used to calculate the residual stress and they are compared. Special attention has been paid to choosing boundary conditions that match the moulding parameters used in the manufacture of the injection mouldings on which the measurements were made. Similarly, care has been taken to choose boundary conditions that correspond with the different actual storage times before analysis for the samples and also boundary conditions that correspond with the post-moulding conditioning. Measurements of residual stresses distributions were made on mouldings produced under conditions chosen to simplify the modelling requirements. The sensitivity of the calculations to the materials property data and to the boundary conditions used have been examined. The experimental verification includes examination of the postmoulding changes. The predicted residual stress distributions over the entire moulding and post-moulding history have been found to be in generally good agreement with the corresponding experimental results under various processing conditions and post-moulding changes. In particular, kinematic boundary conditions for the moulding conditions and the postmoulding conditions, due to different temperaturesa nd relaxation times of the polymer, have been found to be critical ingredients in the calculation of the residual stress distributions.

No description available.

Typescript (photocopy) / 553 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychiatry, 1982