The Differential Effects of Progressive Relaxation and Imagery on Anxiety

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the effects of progressive relaxation and imagery on stress levels. High and low anxiety subjects were selected on the basis of scores on the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory, and were randomly assigned to Progressive Relaxation or Cognitive Imagery treatment conditions. Results indicated that there were no significant differences between treatment conditions: both treatment groups significantly reduced cognitive anxiety scores Ip < .007) from pre- to posttreatment. The analysis of anxiety scores indicated that high anxious subjects significantly decreased their trait anxiety scores (p < .0003) and somatic anxiety scores ip < .02) while low anxious subjects increased their trait anxiety scores (p