Predictability of Individual Differences in Activation Processes in a Field Setting Based on Laboratory Measures

The predictability of individual differences in activation processes was investigated in a multi-method laboratory-field study. Male students of physical education (N=58) were examined under various emotionally activating and physically demanding conditions (mental arithmetic, reaction time, free speech, cold pressor test, bicycle ergometer). The assessment included multi-channel recordings of pre-start phases in an athletic stadium and performance on a 1000 m run. Basal heart rate was also recorded during sleep. This multi-situational assessment was repeated after three weeks, three months, and, for most (N=42) subjects, after one year. Significant relationships exist between scores from corresponding conditions of relaxation, anticipation, and performance of physical exercise. However, with the exception of heart rate, correlation coefficients are rather small and seem to be of questionable predictive validity. A generalizability study further supports the general conclusion: To increase the practical relevance in psychophysiological investigations of stress/strain phenomena, such studies should directly assess individual differences in the criterion situations themselves.