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To examine the effects of "in vivo" emotive imagery on dental discomfort (as measured by pulse rate and self-report) 27 female subjects undergoing tooth prophylaxis were exposed to three tape-recorded treatment conditions (relaxation imagery, neutral imagery, and a blank tape) in counterbalanced order. Promising findings of a pilot study were not confirmed on heart rate; however, on self-reported discomfort, positive differences appeared between the relaxation imagery and each of the control conditions.
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Horan et al. (1976) studied this question.
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