Comparison of heart rate biofeedback, false biofeedback, and systematic desensitization in reducing speech anxiety: Short- and long-term effectiveness

Assessed the comparative effectiveness of heart rate biofeedback (HRB) training, false HRB training, and systematic desensitization (SD) in reducing speech anxiety for 27 students chosen for their high scores on the item "speaking before a group" of the Fear Survey Schedule. Results indicate that all 3 groups demonstrated a decrease in self-reported (Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker) and overt motor components of anxiety during 2 posttreatment assessment periods. Physiological measures (HR and skin conductance), however, indicate that the HRB group was associated with less physiological responding during the posttreatment assessments of anxiety relative to the other 2 groups. Results demonstrate that the 3 behavioral component measures of anxiety are not always highly correlated. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).