The Effects of Frustration and Novelty during Internet Use on Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Michelle A. Patriquin, Michael M. Knepp, B.S., Anthony O. Wells, M.S.., Angela Scarpa,PhD, Bruce H. Friedman, PhD INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY RESULTS The U.S. Census Bureau (2005) found that college-aged adults (18-24 years) were the most likely of any age group to use computers (75%) and the internet (71%). Research has shown a positive relationship between the expectation of immediate information and higher frustration/stress levels in human-computer interaction (Timmel, et al., 2003; Scheirer, 2002; Ramsay, et al. 1998). The current study assessed whether higher internet use would increase expectations for immediate information and subsequent frustration levels when expectations were not met. Primary Hypothesis: As download time increased, heart rate (HR) would also increase and heart rate variability (HRV) would decrease, as a reflection of autonomic state. These HR and HRV relationships would be most pronounced in students who reported high levels of internet use. After being placed in high and low internet use groups, students were randomly assigned to fast and slow download conditions. This created four groups: Webpage download times determined by the researcher are listed below. Duplicated from a similar computer task used by Ramsay et al. (1998), websites were delayed by a Firefox extension, used with Mozilla Firefox version 1.5.0.6. Subjects had to participate in an online scavenger hunt searching for specified items on the following websites: vt.edu, weather.com, facebook.com, cheaptickets.com, google.com, and youtube.com. Baseline HR and HRV was recorded during the video Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation by Godfrey Reggio validated by Vella and Friedman, (in press). HR and HRV were measured using the ambulatory monitoring system and the Polar S810i Heart Rate Monitor. HR and HRV were assed using mean HR and HRV for the entire baseline and task periods. Compared the difference in means (derived from the entire baseline and task periods) between baseline and task for HR and HRV within each group, using paired t-tests. A paired t-test found that HR increased from baseline to task for all groups except for the low internet use, slow download condition. All results are as follows: High/Fast t(12)=-2.319 p<.04 High/Slow t(17)=-3.775 p<.005 Low/Fast t(10)=-4.343 p<.005 Low/Slow t(12)=-1.398 p=.187 A paired t-test found a significant decrease in HRV from baseline to task for the high/slow condition and a trend for the low/fast condition. All the results are as follows: High/Fast t(12)=.492 p=.632 High/Slow t(17)=3.153 p<.006 Low/Fast t(10)=1.952 p<.08 Low/Slow t(12)=1.568 p=.143 Internet Use/Download Condition Number of Subjects High/Slow 18 High/Fast 13 Low/Slow Low/Fast 11 Total 55 SUBJECTS Phase I: 397 undergraduates participated in an online survey. The selection tool used was the Internet Use Questionnaire (Campbell, 2006). From this high and low internet use groups were determined. Phase II: 55 participants (male=17, female=38) aged 18-23 (M= 19.38, SD= 1.31), were selected from the screening. A power analysis was conducted for this study, finding that groups must include between 12 to 15 subjects or between 48 to 60 total subjects for adequate power to detect a medium effect. CONCLUSIONS The unexpected significant increase in HR for the low internet use/fast download condition could be an indicator of novelty for this group who did not posses the confidence, knowledge, or skills to keep up with the fast webpage download condition. The significant increase in HR and decrease in HRV for the high internet use/slow download condition could be an indicator of this group becoming frustrated with the slow download times. Slow Download Condition Time (Seconds) Vt.edu 1 Weather.com 2 Facebook.com 3 Cheaptickets.com Google.com 4 Youtube.com Long Download Condition Time (Seconds) Vt.edu 30 Weather.com 40 Facebook.com 28 Cheaptickets.com 38 Google.com 35 Youtube.com 25 Virginia Tech Psychology Department Presented at the 2007 GSA Research Symposium