part 1

• aims (1+2)?

  • validate subjective self report measure of anxiety STAI Speilberger 1983. done by testing whether scores on STAI (state trait anxiety inventory form Y) correlated with participants heart rate
  • confirm experience of scary person did result in high levels of arousal and anxiety
• procedure (1)?

  18 employees from London Dept store (mean age 26.1 10m 8f). informed consent obtained and wireless heart rate monitor strapped to chest. average baseline heart rate measured by participants walking around slowly for 7 minutes. then entered normally with other visitors, walking around for approx. 7 minutes being measured. 45 minutes after leaving labyrinth participants reported how they felt using state anxiety inventory (SAI)
• results (1)?

  • mean heart rate= significantly higher in labyrinth compared to baseline ( 74.7 -> 86.9)
  • change in heart rate was correlated with SAI to measure association, strong positive correlation 0.76 seen. (valid!)
  • mean SAI score in labyrinth was 49, which is significantly higher than mean trait anxiety score of 36.8 (anxiety inducing experience)
• conclusions (1)?

  • labyrinth and scary person were successful in inducing physiological arousal
  • SAI is a valid measure of state anxiety(concurrent validity since it's measured with a heart rate monitor)