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Focus on
Department of Psychology, CAS
Palm Pilots track reaction to stress
by Emily D. Johnson
Most people use Palm Pilots to keep track of their schedules, not
changes in their moods. Not so for the research subjects of AU psychology
professor Kathleen Gunthert. She has given nearly 100 undergraduates,
who volunteered for either class credit or payment, Palm Pilots
on which they record their reactions to stress throughout the day
for seven days. With her Palm-equipped volunteers, Gunthert plans
to study the connection between daily stresses and symptoms of ongoing
depression or eating disorders.
Psychology research has long relied on paper questionnaires, but
the inaccuracies of after-the-fact reporting has spawned a trend
towards technological methods of real-time data collection.
When subjects are asked to record feelings or reactions in the traditional
logbook format, said Gunthert, “There’s a lot of forgetting
that occurs. More and more research is coming up that memory about
how you dealt with a stressor is really pretty bad.” Gunthert
also described a SUNY—Stony Brook study using photosensitive
binders that secretly recorded when subjects opened them to fill
out questionnaires. Most participants procrastinated and filled
out all of their forms near the end of the study period. “There
is a movement in our field to really try to capture people’s
feelings in the moment,” said Gunthert. “Daily research
with Palms is the next step in getting more accurate assessments.”
In Gunthert’s study, Palm Pilots are programmed to beep at
three random times during the day. The subjects then take a couple
of minutes to answer questions about recent events, coping stratagies,
and mood. “If you want to see what makes people vulnerable
to depression [you can look at] how they in the past reacted to
large stressors or how they tend to cope with everyday circumstances,”
she said. “When you have a stress, how long does your negative
mood last? Through the next assessment? Through the one after that?
That might be a vulnerability for depression. [Using the Palms]
gives us an opportunity to get a richer picture of what people experience
over time when they deal with stress.”
The first trial is finishing now, and Gunthert will take follow-up
data in a few months. She plans to run another study in the fall.
Gunthert doesn’t know yet what her results will show, but she
has been happy with the Palm Pilots. “People seem to prefer
the Palm,” she said. “I think people don’t mind stopping
and thinking about their day and their stress.”
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