Effect of Mood and Personality Characteristics on Psychophysiological Responses

Koo, M S; Yu, B H

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study examined the effect of mood and personality characteristics on psychophysiological responses measured by a biofeedback system in a normal population.
METHODS
Fifty healthy volunteers without any history of medical or psychiatric illnesses participated in this study. We measured the Spielberger trait anxiety inventory, Beck depression inventory, and Eysenck personality questionnaires in these subjects. Using the J & J biofeedback system, we also measured skin temperature, electrodermal response, forearm and frontal electromyography (EMG)s in 3 experimental conditions of baseline, stress, and recovery phases.
RESULTS
Trait anxiety did not show any significant correlation with psychophysiological responses except stress response in forearm EMG levels(r=0.282, p<0.05). Depressed mood was negatively correlated with forearm EMG levels in baseline (r=-0.299, p<0.05) and recovery phases (r=-0.314, p<0.05). Subjects with relatively high levels of depressed mood showed different stress and recovery responses in frontal EMG levels compared with those with relatively low levels of depressed mood (F=4,26, p<0.05). Extroverted subjects showed higher levels of forearm EMG than introverted ones in stress phase.
CONCLUSION
Mood and personality characteristics in healthy subjects are closely related with psychophysiological responses measured by a biofeedback system. We suggest that mood and personality characteristics should be considered as important variables in analyzing abnormal psychophysiological responses in some psychiatric patients.