Study Peters et al. (1977): study US 1974

Public

Employees, USA, 1974

Survey name

Unnamed study

Sample

Respondents

N = 178

Non Response

Assessment

Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)

Correlate

Authors's Label

Relaxation eliciting technique

Our Classification

Remarks

A quiet room with comfortable chairs which participants in groups 1A and 1B could use at work was set aside by the company. Breaks had to take place in employee time or at home. Other than the method used to relax, the training of Groups A and B was the same. One person conducted all training, which took place individually and in groups of two to 20 from the same experimental group. Participants attended two or three training sessions lasting up to one hour each, during which they practiced relaxing and discussed the experience. Both groups were instructed how to sit comfortably in a chair with minimal movement for ten to 15 minutes. Both were told how to find quiet places to practice. The second and third sessions took place from one to ten days after the initial training and were included primarily to resolve any difficulties participants were having in finding regular times and places to practice.

Distribution

1A: N = 54, 1B: N = 36, 0A: N = 36, 0B: N = 52

Operationalization

Volunteer participants were randomly assigned on a 3:2:2 ratio to:
1A. RELAXATION + ELICITING TECHNIQUE. Paticipants were asked to take two 15 minutes breaks each day for an eight week period. The relaxation technique taught  involves silently repeating the word "one" during each exhalation and passively disregarding other thoughts.
1B: RELAXATION.
Paticipants were asked to take two 15 minutes breaks each day for an eight week period.  Participants were told that as long as they sat quietly without speaking and did not focus on any one repetitive thought, they could daydream, think about their days, listen to music,or use the time for any similar relaxing activity
0A: CONTROL; non-volunteers
0B: CONTROL: volunteers randimlu assigned as controls
Groups A and B  took no special relaxation breaks. They were promised and subsequently given the opportunity of learning the relaxation response at the end of the 12-week investigation.

Observed Relation with Happiness