Biofeedback Content

Question 1

What is the idea behind biofeedback in coping with stress?

Answer 1

Allowing the individual to exert voluntary control over the autonomic responses during stress such as an increased heart rate that are involuntary. Allowing the individual to notice the physiological changes that occur during stress and reinforce the idea that they can notice the changes voluntarily and respond to them helps to cope with stress as you really understand what is physiologically going on with your body when you are stressed

Question 2

What are the four components of biofeedback?

Answer 2

1. Relaxation
2. Feedback
3. Operant conditioning
4. Transfer

Question 3

What happens in the relaxation part of biofeedback and why?

Answer 3

Client is taught techniques of relaxation so that you can notice the reduce activity of the sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system when you calm down, reinforcing the idea that you are able to calm down and control your stress

Question 4

What machines are used in the feedback part of biofeedback?

Answer 4

. EMG (electromyograph), responding to changes in muscles
. Skin conductance response, measuring sweat activity
. EEG, measuring electrical activity in the brain

Question 5

What is the idea behind the feedback in biofeedback?

Answer 5

. The client can monitor the activity of their ANS while simultaneously noticing the sound of their heartbeat for example
. Visual feedback of this activity can help reinforce the idea that the ANS is doing its job and working properly to return you to a state of homeostasis
. Being able to see breathing patterns and sweat glands activity is useful as these are not easy to pick up on or realise when trying to take voluntary control over what’s going on in the ANS

Question 6

How is feedback used in practice in biofeedback?

Answer 6

The client combines the breathing techniques with the feedback machines so that when they see a change they can notice it and respond accordingly using the relaxation techniques taught e.g realising that the heart rate decreases when the relaxation techniques are used

Question 7

How does operant conditioning come into play in biofeedback?

Answer 7

When the client notices that relaxation leads to a reduced head rate, they experience a reward as they have achieved their goals and this reinforces the behaviour to notice changes in the ANS that take place during stressful situations.

After the same reward is received many time, the behaviour becomes so reinforced that the individual finally accepts that their response is natural and all working fine, unconsciously ‘stamping in’ the behaviour to their stress response

The feedback and feeling of relaxation are positively reinforcing