Physiological responses during escape and non-escape from stress in field independent and field dependent subjects

Psychophysiological responses (GSP, GSR, heart rate and respiration) were monitored while the subjects viewed stressful stimuli. In balanced order the subjects were exposed to a condition in which they viewed the stimuli for 15 sec and a condition in which they could escape the stimulus. The subjects were divided into four groups according to level of trait anxiety and rod and frame scores. The results suggested that escape from stress produced different patterns of physiological activity than non-escape conditions. The changes were most noticeable for tonic GSP, non-specific GSR and heart rate. Field independent subjects differentiated the conditions physiologically and behaviorally to a greater extent than field independent subjects. It was speculated that field independent subjects are more dependent upon physiological cues to evaluate their perceptions and emotions than field dependent subjects.