Psychophysiological Patterns Of Anxiety In The Development Of Psychopathology

SUMMARY

The project was aimed at achieving two objectives. To determine, first the quantitative value of anxiety that differentiates normals from psychopathological groups and second the magnitude of anxiety at different developmental stages of psychopathology. These objectives which have implications for research and therapy have been notable problems in clinical psychology (Martin & Sroufe, 1970).

The objectives were achieved in three interrelated studies with a total of 1,330 subjects. In the first study the assessment devices used were standardized in three sets, The first set consisted of psychophysiological measures. Electromyometer was used to obtain electromyograms (EMG) from five muscle sites of 50 subjects (M - 25, F = 25, mean age - 24.28 years). The bilateral muscle sites were frontalis, sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, extensor digitorum and peronius tertius. A psychogalvanometer was used to obtain skin conductance level (SCL) from the right palms of the subjects while their psychothermogram(PIM) was obtained from the tip of the right middle finger with a psychothermometer.