Abstract
The variety of experiences associated with alpha enhancement have questioned the generality of early research and the reliability of the relationship. Participants were given eight alpha feedback trials and asked to complete a 40-scale semantic differential describing their experience. The eight principle components in the semantic differential were correlated with changes in alpha amplitude using canonical correlations, and two significant canonical variates were found. A procedure for estimating the influence of extraneous variables was illustrated by manipulating the instructional set and perceived locus of control. The influence of these variables varied in degree; some descriptive adjectives were strongly influenced by the manipulated variables, whereas other adjectives highly correlated with alpha activity were fairly independent of these influences. The most common strategy for alpha production was relaxation, which theoretically disconnected the interlocking of the sensory and motor systems. A cognitive strategy that bypasses the predictive processes used to guide the motor system was also in general accordance with some of the significant experiences isolated by canonical techniques.
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Reference note
Jamieson, J., & Dreger, H.Internal-external locus of control and response to alpha feedback training. Paper presented at the Canadian Psychological Association meetings in Toronto, June 1976.
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This study was presented in part at the eighth annual meeting of the Biofeedback Society in Orlando, Florida, 1977, and was supported by a National Research Council of Canada grant. We are very grateful for the comments and criticisms made by Prof. Robert Ogilvie and Prof. Stan Sadava.
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Tyson, P.D., Audette, R. A multivariate approach to the relationship between alpha waves and experience during feedback. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 4, 63–79 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00998950
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00998950