Finger Pulse Volume As a Measure of Anxiety: Further Evaluation

The present investigation further explored the utility of Finger Pulse Volume (FPV) as a measure of anxiety. Male and female subjects were exposed to threatening and nonthreatening situations and measures of FPV, pulse rate (PR), and self‐report of anxiety (AACL) were collected. Results indicate that: a) FPV was sensitive to changes in experimentally manipulated anxiety, and b) FPV and PR were temporally, differentially responsive as measures of anxiety: FPV was more responsive initially and recovered more quickly than PR following the introduction of threat. Implications of these data to the often noted low intercorrelations among physiological measures and the relevance of these findings to anxiety management are discussed.