Abstract
This study examined habituation of subjective and psychophysiological reseponses to “agari” (stage fright) state. In this study, we defined “agari” as an internal state of psychological and physiological arousal that occurs in performance situations. Thirteen students gave a speech in front of observers (experimental condition), and another 12 students read an essay aloud without observers (control group). Each condition consisted of 3 trials, performing a single trial per day in 7 day intervals. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and admittance plethysmogram were recorded, together with other subjective measurements. Repetition of task situation attenuated subjective responses of “agari”. As for psychophysiological responses, whereas HR decreased depending on repetition, BP maintained same levels across all three trials. Cardiac output and total peripheral resistance were not affected by repetition. Results did not support the possibility that affective habituation according to repetition of task altered the pattern of hemodynamic response from cardiac dominant to vascular dominant.
