AN INVESTIGATION OF THE POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES AND SMOKING CESSATION IN A SELF - SELECTED POPULATION
Abstract
This study focused on the possible relationship between certain physiological and psychological variables and the cessation of smoking. The population studied was employees enrolled in a multimodality smoking cessation program at the local offices of a major American corporation. In order to be eligible to participate, each individual must have become a non-smoker by the end of the smoking cessation program. Three physiological measures were taken on each individual while performing a relaxation exercise; (1) Electromyogram (EMG), (2) Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and (3) Skin Temperature. The psychological measure consisted of the variable "anxiety" in the Cattell 16-PF personality inventory. Individual's self report of their smoking status was verified through a test for expired carbon monoxide levels. For the total population (N-31) no significant relationships were found between the physiological and psychological variable measured and cessation; however, with the removal of two cases discovered during the post-test interview to be influenced by external factors of high caffeine level and a severe family crisis, the measure of EMG, attained significance in discriminating between the successful and unsuccessful in Smoking Cessation.
Subject Area
Social psychology
Recommended Citation
LOWE, JOHN BRUCE, "AN INVESTIGATION OF THE POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES AND SMOKING CESSATION IN A SELF - SELECTED POPULATION" (1982). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI8223557.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI8223557