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Ambulatory Biofeedback Technology and Internal Body Awareness - Integrating Biofeedback into Students’ Daily Life

Spitzer, Leonie (2019) Ambulatory Biofeedback Technology and Internal Body Awareness - Integrating Biofeedback into Students’ Daily Life.

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Abstract:Background. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the use of Biofeedback technology in daily life. Research theorizes that biofeedback might be closely linked to internal body awareness and self-awareness which are central to subjective experience, awareness, and understanding of emotional processes. Investigating this relationship in depth is of importance to attain knowledge about self-regulation, emotional-regulation and stress regulation. Especially effective methods to decrease stress seem of great importance in light of an increasing number of people who are suffering from chronic stress in their everyday life. Consequently, biofeedback has been incorporated in a number of mHealth technology interventions. Yet, the qualitative nature of the experience of biofeedback remains unclear, although it provides the base for every kind of possible intervention. Objective. The purpose of the present study was to explore how biofeedback relates to internal feedback. The way in which students respond to ambulatory biofeedback might offer deeper practical insights into how ambulatory operates, how it can be best utilized in daily life and which limitation may be experienced. Method. The study is part of a qualitative research project in the form of a semi-structured interview. The final sample consisted of 16 students by means of conducting a mix of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Participants used the mHealth bio-cueing application “Sense-IT” for four days and subsequent interviews were analyzed by means of a descriptive phenomenological psychological method. Results. Five main codes were synthesized: attribution, body awareness, self-regulation, integration in daily life, and limitations which explored the objectives in depth. Results of the Wearable Technology Embodiment Scale indicated that students experienced the technology to have mainly extended their cognitive capabilities. The findings of the System Usability Scale showed that mean was 71.09, indicating an above average acceptable usability with Grade C+ and the adjective “Good”. Conclusion and Discussion. This study provides explorative evidence on the relation between ambulatory biofeedback and internal body awareness, specifically, it is suggested that ambulatory biofeedback promotes self-awareness, self-reflection and self-regulation in daily life. To ultimately enhance body-mind integration and personal well-being, it has been integrated in daily life as an emotion screening-, stress prevention- and sports tool. Although some refinements of the technology should be considered, more importantly, additional quantitative information is needed. Future research is recommended to extend the testing period to consequently examine in which way long-term exposure to biofeedback technology affects self-perception, how different self-reflection styles affect the perception of biofeedback and what level of guidance is needed.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/78357
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