The Level of Individuals Stress, Measured by HRV, whilst Performing the IAT, Moderated by Neuroticism

Termote, Michelle (2024) The Level of Individuals Stress, Measured by HRV, whilst Performing the IAT, Moderated by Neuroticism. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

Text Michelle-Termote-Thesis-.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only Download (930kB)

Abstract

Stress triggers emotional and physiological responses, affecting human behaviour and functioning. Stress responses can manifest through various pathways and are influenced by individual-specific factors, including personality traits like neuroticism. Neuroticism is associated with heightened subjective stress and maladaptive psychological states, potentially affecting stress recovery and physiological responses, such as heart rate variability (HRV). This study aims to investigate the relationship between physiological stress measured by the heart rate variability (HRV), neuroticism, and perceived stress during the Implicit Association Test (IAT). For this study, a final sample of 33 adolescent participants was used for the data analysis. Physiological stress was measured using HRV captured by the Polar H10 Chest strap. Perceived stress was assessed using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). Personality traits were evaluated using the Big Five Inventory (BFI). The IAT served as the manipulation tool to induce stress, with the task comprising four rounds of associations between positive/negative words and ingroup/outgroup names, categorising congruent and incongruent phases. Results did not report significant, to support the proposed hypothesis, that individuals show lower HRV during incongruent trials of the IAT, and that neuroticism moderates the stress response during the IAT. The hypothesis that there is an association between HRV-measured physiological stress and perceived stress levels during the IAT, was also not supported. However, this study does give insight into the complex relationship between stress, personality, and cognitive performance in high-stress environments, and the need to emphasise the individual differences between people, plus the effects that these differences can have on testing tools.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Span, M.M.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2024 12:26
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2024 12:26
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3393

Actions (login required)

View Item