Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of strategy and the individual differences of imaginability on heart rate (HR) self-regulation (HR decrease task). 99 undergraduate students were asked to fulfill the SSI (Sophian Scale of Imagery) in order to measure the imaginability, and 16 students with high and low imaginability (8 in each groups) participated in experiment as subiects. Ss of high and low imaginability groups were further randomly assigned to one of two conditions with or without imaginal strategy. The strategy used in this study included not only the imagery of relaxation but also so called response-proposition-oriented procedure. At every 6 sessions, Ss were asked to decrease their HR for a minute per a session. The emotional changes during session were also measured between each sessions. The major findings were as follows : (1) the HR changes were influenced by individual differences of imaginability correlated with imaginal strategy. (2) imaginal strategy was significantly effective on HR decrase task. (3) HR self-regulation with which Ss intended to decrease HR caused the strong relaxation and the reduction of anxiety. These findings were discussed within the theoretical framework of self-control of autonomic responses.
