Abstract
The present experiment was designed to determine the effects of cognition of physiological state and actual physiological responses upon emotion, as defined in terms of relaxation. Female undergraduates participated in the experiment as Ss and were asked to decrease their heart rate under both real and false fee dback conditions. Under the false feedback condition, Ss were informed as being successful in reducing heart rate when actually vice versa, and in consequence, came to believe their performance became worse as the sessions proceeded. However, Ss under this condition as well as the real feedback condition could become emotionally stable for they were actually successful in decreasing heart rate as much as under the real feedback condition. This seems to be partly because Ss were mostly using proper strategies under either condition to decrease heart rate. When cognition of physiological state and actual physiological responses are contradictory, the latter seem to influence dominantly upon emotion.
