engleski

Time perception in persons with high and low anxiety sensitivity in conditions of hyperventilation induced arousal

Most of the research on time perception has dealt with simplified stimuli presented in very short time intervals, sacrificing ecological validity. The present study assessed the effect of hyperventilation induced arousal on time perception within the retrospective paradigm in subjects with high and low anxiety sensitivity. Hyperventilation is known to produce discomforting body sensations similar to those occurring during panic attacks. Forty-five high and 36 low anxiety sensitive students were chosen based on their prior results in Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Reiss et al., 1986). Participants were told to perform the hyperventilation as long as possible. Afterwards, participants estimated how long they had endured in the hyperventilation exercise. Measures of the state anxiety (STAI- S, Spielberg, 2000) were taken before and after the exercise. The high anxiety sensitive participants felt significantly more anxious than the low sensitive ones. All participants felt more anxious after the exercise. Both groups significantly underestimated exercise duration, but the underestimation was significantly higher in the low anxiety sensitive group. The results were explained by the greater number of contextual changes for the high anxiety sensitive participants during hyperventilation. The effects of the altered time experience on avoidance behaviors and development of anxiety disorders are discussed.

time perception, anxiety sensitivity, hyperventilation, retrospective paradigm

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