From the standpoint of human physiology, stress is generally described as disequilibrium from a state of homeostasis. It can be assessed through a variety of measure, including heart rate variability. HRV and the measure of stress. The principal aim of this exploratory research study is to relate 1st person to 3rd person data In particular in regard to stress, which we measure through HRV. In this experiment, we tested the hypothesis that chills subjects should relax, significantly more than non chills subjects.
Methods
Procedure
The participant entered the laboratory, sat in front of a blank screen in a comfortable chair. She was provided with a factual account of what is going to happen next and gave her informed consent. The PPG sensor was wrapped around their arm. The experimenter then proceeded to launch the experiment and left the room. For 30 s the subject was asked to stay still while shown a neutral picture of the ocean. This was done in order to obtain a baseline response for the statistical analysis. After 30 s of prime, the subject was exposed to the chill-eliciting stimulus (a film). The stimulation was 1 min long. The subject was then exposed again (for 30 s) to the picture of the ocean in order to perfect our baseline. Once the experiment was finished, the experimenter came back in the room, disconnects the sensors and provides the subject with a questionnaire. The questionnaire contains (i) multidimensional chills questions, (ii) demographics, (iii) an analog rating scale for the amount of pleasure (0–10) felt by the subject during the film (iv) narratological questions regarding chill-eliciting situations in narratives, and (v) various open phenomenological questions (such as “please describe in your own words what you have felt during the film that you have just seen,” etc.). Finally, the subjects were thanked for their participation and fully debriefed. Each session lasted about 15 min.