TY - JOUR
T1 - Progressive relaxation and meditation. A study of psychophysiological and therapeutic differences between two techniques
AU - Lehrer, Paul M.
AU - Woolfolk, Robert L.
AU - Rooney, Anthony J.
AU - McCann, Barbara
AU - Carrington, Patricia
N1 - Funding Information:
,4~~~o,~le6~rnfn,.~-Thitr;e search was supported in part by a General Research Support Grant from Rutgers Medical School. WC are indebted to Ailan Jusko for his technical advice and help. Also David Batey, Patricia Gets, Ronald Dudek, Claire Florio, Barbara Cole and Gerald Dunham participated as polygraphers and/or therapists. We are also indebted to Gary Schwartz for his helpful comments.
PY - 1983
Y1 - 1983
N2 - Physiological and self-report data were collected on anxious subjects who participated in a study comparing progressive relaxation, meditation and a waiting-list control. The data provide some support for the Schwartz, Davidson and Goleman (1978) hypothesis of specific effects for different relaxation procedures, superimposed upon a generalized relaxation response. The similarities between techniques, however, were greater than the differences, both on physiological and self-report measures. Both techniques generated positive expectancies and produced decreases in a variety of self-reported symptoms and on EMG: but no skin conductance or frontal EEG effects were observed. Progressive relaxation produced bigger decreases in forearm EMG responsiveness to stressful stimulation and a generally more powerful therapeutic effect than meditation. Meditation produced greater cardiac orienting responses to stressful stimuli, greater absorption in the task and better motivation to practice than progressive relaxation; but it also produced more reports of increased transient anxiety. We found no significant differences between conditions in the therapeutic expectancies they generated. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
AB - Physiological and self-report data were collected on anxious subjects who participated in a study comparing progressive relaxation, meditation and a waiting-list control. The data provide some support for the Schwartz, Davidson and Goleman (1978) hypothesis of specific effects for different relaxation procedures, superimposed upon a generalized relaxation response. The similarities between techniques, however, were greater than the differences, both on physiological and self-report measures. Both techniques generated positive expectancies and produced decreases in a variety of self-reported symptoms and on EMG: but no skin conductance or frontal EEG effects were observed. Progressive relaxation produced bigger decreases in forearm EMG responsiveness to stressful stimulation and a generally more powerful therapeutic effect than meditation. Meditation produced greater cardiac orienting responses to stressful stimuli, greater absorption in the task and better motivation to practice than progressive relaxation; but it also produced more reports of increased transient anxiety. We found no significant differences between conditions in the therapeutic expectancies they generated. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0021072025&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0021072025&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0005-7967(83)90083-9
DO - 10.1016/0005-7967(83)90083-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 6362649
AN - SCOPUS:0021072025
SN - 0005-7967
VL - 21
SP - 651
EP - 662
JO - Behavioral Assessment
JF - Behavioral Assessment
IS - 6
ER -