Psychological Reports, 1991, 69, 1024-1026.
O Psychological Reports 1991
FALSE HEART-RATE FEEDBACK, SOCIAL ANXIETY A N D SELF-ATTRIBUTION O F EMBARRASSMENT ' SHAHRIAR SHAHIDI Universig College London
AND
BAHMAN BALUCH London Fertiliiy Centre
Summary.-120 subjects high or low on social anxiety were asked to speak in front of a camera. While watching a replay of their performance, false heart-rate feedback was presented. Highly anxious subjects (n = 36) reported significantly more embarrassment than subjects who scored low in anxiety. Further, subjects reported being embarrassed according to the direction of false heart-rate idormation. Results offer support for the self-attribution theory of emotions.
Schachter (6) has argued that an individual may use environmental cues, including facial and behavioural expressions as well as physiological cues, to interpret and label emotional experiences. Support for this self-attribution hypothesis of emotions comes mainly from several classic studies using placebos or false physiological information and emphasizes that feelings of emotional states such as anxiety and embarrassment may be the result of a complex labelting process based on information from physiological and environmental cues (4, 7, 10). Despite some criticism that experimenter effects may have played a central role in these classic studies (I), recent work has shown that both subjective reports and actual physiological activity are affected by false physiological feedback (8), suggesting that effects of experimenter demand may be minimal. These results have been replicated, confirmed, and extended by several recent studies ( 5 , 8, 9). Research on embarrassment has largely ignored the role played by information concerning internal events in the labehng of emotions (2). The aims of the present experiment are two-fold: (i) to examine the hypothesis that false heart-rate feedback affects subjects' reports of embarrassment and (ii) to investigate whether social anxiety is related to the self-attribution of embarrassment. Method.-One hundred twenty subjects (mean age 20.5 yr., age range of 18 to 32 years) completed the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale constructed by Watson and Friend (11).The scale measures social anxiety defined as the experience of distress, discomfort, fear, and anxiety in social situations. I t is a 28-item scale, and subjects respond true or false to each item. Seventy-two subjects, with an equal ratio of men to women (mean age 21.2 'Address correspondence to either Dr. Shahriar Shahidi, c/o Department of Psycholo , UniverLondon sity College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WClE 6BTor Dr. Bahman Baluch, Fertility Centre, Cozens House, l l 2 A Harley Street, London W I N 1AE
$
HEART RATE, ANXIETY, EMBARRASSMENT
1025
yr., age range of 19 to 29 years) scored one SD above or below the mean and were labelled as extreme scorers (maximum score = 28, mean = 8.0, SD = 5.1). Subjects were required to speak about themselves in front of a camera for three minutes. The content of the speech was not specified but subjects were told that their performance would be later analysed by a panel of students. The camera was attached to a VHS videorecorder which recorded each subject's performance. Two electrodes were attached to each subject's wrists; they were told that their heart rate was going to be measured by an electrocardiogram. They were told that later they would have a chance to watch their performance and a display of their heart rate. At the end of the three minutes subjects watched the recording of their performance and heart rate on a videomonitor. Continuous false heart-rate feedback in the form of beats per minute was presented visually at the bottom of the videomonitor. Heart rate was artificially produced via a BBC microcomputer which was programmed to produce an increasing or decreasing heart rate. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups. One group was presented false information indicating a rise in heart rate and one group was given false information suggesting a decrease in heart rate to check possible effects of physiological information on the labelling and interpretation of embarrassment. A control group was given no heart-rate information at all. At the end of the experiment, subjects were asked to indicate on a 20centimeter rating scale how embarrassed they had felt during the 3-rnin. speaking session. Zero represented "not at all embarrassed" and 20 represented "extremely embarrassed." Results.-A significant correlation was found between scores on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale and ratings of embarrassment (Y,,, = 0.48, p < .01). This indicates that subjects who reported to be socially anxious also reported more embarrassment when speaking about themselves. Mean ratings of embarrassment made by the 72 extreme scorers on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale are shown in Table 1. These data were analysed using a three-way analysis of variance. The following factors were included in the analysis: (i) high vs low social anxiety, (ii)increased feedback vs decreased feedback vs no feedback, (iii)men vs women. There was no significant sex difference in reported ratings of embarrassment. Highly anxious subjects reported significantly more embarrassment than low anxious subjects (F,,6,= 11.59, p < .01). Furthermore, a significant main effect was found in the feedback factor (F,,6, =22.17, p e . 0 1 ) . Linear contrasts showed that the increased feedback group reported significantly more embarrassment than the control group and that the control group reported more embarrassment than the decreased feedback group. Two important points are emphasized by these findings. Firstly, the
1026
S. SHAHIDI & B. BALUCH
MEAN RATINGS
TABLE 1 OF EMBARRASSMENT A N D STANDARD DEVIATIONSFOR SUBJECTS HIGH AND LOWIN SOCIALANXIETY
Group
All Subjects Increased Feedback Decreased Feedback No Feedback
High Anxious M SD 11.8 14.9 7.5 13.1
3.1 4.1 4.1 3.3
Low Anxious SD
M
8.8 11.9 5.5 9.2
3.6 3.5 3.6 3.9
results support the self-attribution theory, suggesting how physiological changes may be considered to function as cues and are represented cognitively as feelings or sensations. These feelings in turn arouse further cognitive activity in the form of attempts to identify the situation that precipitated them. Hence, the use of emotional terms as labels by the individual and the importance of physiological states of arousal in self-attribution of embarrassment is emphasized. Secondly, social anxiety was associated with self-reports of embarrassment. The labelling of the term embarrassment seems to occur only in social situations (2, 3). Since individuals who report they are socially anxious also report discomfort with social interactions (ll),when persons report high anxiety in many social situations, they may be more likely to use other labels associated with the label of social anxiety-such as embarrassment. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
BECK,R. C., GIBSON,C., ELLIOTT,W., S m s , C., MATESON, N.,
& MCDANIEL, L. (1988) False physiological feedback and emotion: experimenter demand and salient effects. Motivation & Emotion, 12, 217-235. EDELMANN, R. J. (1981) Embarrassment: the state of research. Current Psychological Reviews, 1, 125-138. GOFFMAN,E. (1959) The presentation of self in every day life. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univer. Press. N I S B E ~R. , E., & SCHACHTER, S. (1966) Cognitive manipulation of pain. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2, 227-236. PARKINSON, B., & COLGAN, L. (1988) False autonomic feedback: effects of attention to feedback on ratings of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Motivation & Emotion, 12, 87-98. SCHACHTER, S. (1964) The interaction of cognitive and physiological determinants of emotional state. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental socialpsychology. New York: Academic Press. SCHACHTER, S., & SINGER, J. E. (1962) Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional states. Psychological Review, 69, 379-399. SHAHIDI,S., & POWELL,, G . E. (1988) Biofeedback training of relaxation: effects of false feedback and the influence of suggestibility. Personality & Individual Differences, 9, 995999. SHAHIDI,S., & SALMON,P. (1991) Contingent and noncontingent heart rate feedback for Type A healthy adults: can Type As relax by competing? (manuscript submitted for publication) VALINS,S. (1966) Cognitive effects of false heart rate feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4 , 400-408. WATSON,D., & FRIEND, R. (1969) The measurement of social evaluative anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 448-457.
Accepted November 1 , 1991.
O Psychological Reports 1991
FALSE HEART-RATE FEEDBACK, SOCIAL ANXIETY A N D SELF-ATTRIBUTION O F EMBARRASSMENT ' SHAHRIAR SHAHIDI Universig College London
AND
BAHMAN BALUCH London Fertiliiy Centre
Summary.-120 subjects high or low on social anxiety were asked to speak in front of a camera. While watching a replay of their performance, false heart-rate feedback was presented. Highly anxious subjects (n = 36) reported significantly more embarrassment than subjects who scored low in anxiety. Further, subjects reported being embarrassed according to the direction of false heart-rate idormation. Results offer support for the self-attribution theory of emotions.
Schachter (6) has argued that an individual may use environmental cues, including facial and behavioural expressions as well as physiological cues, to interpret and label emotional experiences. Support for this self-attribution hypothesis of emotions comes mainly from several classic studies using placebos or false physiological information and emphasizes that feelings of emotional states such as anxiety and embarrassment may be the result of a complex labelting process based on information from physiological and environmental cues (4, 7, 10). Despite some criticism that experimenter effects may have played a central role in these classic studies (I), recent work has shown that both subjective reports and actual physiological activity are affected by false physiological feedback (8), suggesting that effects of experimenter demand may be minimal. These results have been replicated, confirmed, and extended by several recent studies ( 5 , 8, 9). Research on embarrassment has largely ignored the role played by information concerning internal events in the labehng of emotions (2). The aims of the present experiment are two-fold: (i) to examine the hypothesis that false heart-rate feedback affects subjects' reports of embarrassment and (ii) to investigate whether social anxiety is related to the self-attribution of embarrassment. Method.-One hundred twenty subjects (mean age 20.5 yr., age range of 18 to 32 years) completed the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale constructed by Watson and Friend (11).The scale measures social anxiety defined as the experience of distress, discomfort, fear, and anxiety in social situations. I t is a 28-item scale, and subjects respond true or false to each item. Seventy-two subjects, with an equal ratio of men to women (mean age 21.2 'Address correspondence to either Dr. Shahriar Shahidi, c/o Department of Psycholo , UniverLondon sity College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WClE 6BTor Dr. Bahman Baluch, Fertility Centre, Cozens House, l l 2 A Harley Street, London W I N 1AE
$
HEART RATE, ANXIETY, EMBARRASSMENT
1025
yr., age range of 19 to 29 years) scored one SD above or below the mean and were labelled as extreme scorers (maximum score = 28, mean = 8.0, SD = 5.1). Subjects were required to speak about themselves in front of a camera for three minutes. The content of the speech was not specified but subjects were told that their performance would be later analysed by a panel of students. The camera was attached to a VHS videorecorder which recorded each subject's performance. Two electrodes were attached to each subject's wrists; they were told that their heart rate was going to be measured by an electrocardiogram. They were told that later they would have a chance to watch their performance and a display of their heart rate. At the end of the three minutes subjects watched the recording of their performance and heart rate on a videomonitor. Continuous false heart-rate feedback in the form of beats per minute was presented visually at the bottom of the videomonitor. Heart rate was artificially produced via a BBC microcomputer which was programmed to produce an increasing or decreasing heart rate. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups. One group was presented false information indicating a rise in heart rate and one group was given false information suggesting a decrease in heart rate to check possible effects of physiological information on the labelling and interpretation of embarrassment. A control group was given no heart-rate information at all. At the end of the experiment, subjects were asked to indicate on a 20centimeter rating scale how embarrassed they had felt during the 3-rnin. speaking session. Zero represented "not at all embarrassed" and 20 represented "extremely embarrassed." Results.-A significant correlation was found between scores on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale and ratings of embarrassment (Y,,, = 0.48, p < .01). This indicates that subjects who reported to be socially anxious also reported more embarrassment when speaking about themselves. Mean ratings of embarrassment made by the 72 extreme scorers on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale are shown in Table 1. These data were analysed using a three-way analysis of variance. The following factors were included in the analysis: (i) high vs low social anxiety, (ii)increased feedback vs decreased feedback vs no feedback, (iii)men vs women. There was no significant sex difference in reported ratings of embarrassment. Highly anxious subjects reported significantly more embarrassment than low anxious subjects (F,,6,= 11.59, p < .01). Furthermore, a significant main effect was found in the feedback factor (F,,6, =22.17, p e . 0 1 ) . Linear contrasts showed that the increased feedback group reported significantly more embarrassment than the control group and that the control group reported more embarrassment than the decreased feedback group. Two important points are emphasized by these findings. Firstly, the
1026
S. SHAHIDI & B. BALUCH
MEAN RATINGS
TABLE 1 OF EMBARRASSMENT A N D STANDARD DEVIATIONSFOR SUBJECTS HIGH AND LOWIN SOCIALANXIETY
Group
All Subjects Increased Feedback Decreased Feedback No Feedback
High Anxious M SD 11.8 14.9 7.5 13.1
3.1 4.1 4.1 3.3
Low Anxious SD
M
8.8 11.9 5.5 9.2
3.6 3.5 3.6 3.9
results support the self-attribution theory, suggesting how physiological changes may be considered to function as cues and are represented cognitively as feelings or sensations. These feelings in turn arouse further cognitive activity in the form of attempts to identify the situation that precipitated them. Hence, the use of emotional terms as labels by the individual and the importance of physiological states of arousal in self-attribution of embarrassment is emphasized. Secondly, social anxiety was associated with self-reports of embarrassment. The labelling of the term embarrassment seems to occur only in social situations (2, 3). Since individuals who report they are socially anxious also report discomfort with social interactions (ll),when persons report high anxiety in many social situations, they may be more likely to use other labels associated with the label of social anxiety-such as embarrassment. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
BECK,R. C., GIBSON,C., ELLIOTT,W., S m s , C., MATESON, N.,
& MCDANIEL, L. (1988) False physiological feedback and emotion: experimenter demand and salient effects. Motivation & Emotion, 12, 217-235. EDELMANN, R. J. (1981) Embarrassment: the state of research. Current Psychological Reviews, 1, 125-138. GOFFMAN,E. (1959) The presentation of self in every day life. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univer. Press. N I S B E ~R. , E., & SCHACHTER, S. (1966) Cognitive manipulation of pain. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2, 227-236. PARKINSON, B., & COLGAN, L. (1988) False autonomic feedback: effects of attention to feedback on ratings of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Motivation & Emotion, 12, 87-98. SCHACHTER, S. (1964) The interaction of cognitive and physiological determinants of emotional state. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental socialpsychology. New York: Academic Press. SCHACHTER, S., & SINGER, J. E. (1962) Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional states. Psychological Review, 69, 379-399. SHAHIDI,S., & POWELL,, G . E. (1988) Biofeedback training of relaxation: effects of false feedback and the influence of suggestibility. Personality & Individual Differences, 9, 995999. SHAHIDI,S., & SALMON,P. (1991) Contingent and noncontingent heart rate feedback for Type A healthy adults: can Type As relax by competing? (manuscript submitted for publication) VALINS,S. (1966) Cognitive effects of false heart rate feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4 , 400-408. WATSON,D., & FRIEND, R. (1969) The measurement of social evaluative anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 448-457.
Accepted November 1 , 1991.
