The philosophies behind many martial arts often claim that by practicing martial arts individuals can gain better control over stress. We tested this idea by using controlled physical stressors to elicit an acute stress response from martial artists (n=15) and non-martial artists (n=18). To measure the extent of the stress response, we looked at changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and galvanic skin level. These three measures explore both parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, and changes in these variables continue to be explored in studies of stress and reactive aggression. In addition to our physical stressors we also exposed individuals to affective imagery from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Individual levels of aggression were also assessed using the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. Martial artists elicited a stable galvanic skin level while being tapped upon the forehead, and there was a trend that indicated the martial artists were less aggressive.
","abstract_html":"<p>The philosophies behind many martial arts often claim that by practicing martial arts individuals can gain better control over stress. We tested this idea by using controlled physical stressors to elicit an acute stress response from martial artists (n=15) and non-martial artists (n=18). To measure the extent of the stress response, we looked at changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and galvanic skin level. These three measures explore both parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, and changes in these variables continue to be explored in studies of stress and reactive aggression. In addition to our physical stressors we also exposed individuals to affective imagery from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Individual levels of aggression were also assessed using the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. Martial artists elicited a stable galvanic skin level while being tapped upon the forehead, and there was a trend that indicated the martial artists were less aggressive.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pemment, Jack"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.S. in Biological Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lainy B. Day","Gail Stratton","Dwight E. Waddell"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z","subjects":["Aggression","Gsl","Heart Rate","Martial Arts","Rsa","Neurosciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/904","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lainy B. Day","Gail Stratton","Dwight E. Waddell"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pemment, Jack"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S. in Biological Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Aggression","Gsl","Heart Rate","Martial Arts","Rsa","Neurosciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/904"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The philosophies behind many martial arts often claim that by practicing martial arts individuals can gain better control over stress. We tested this idea by using controlled physical stressors to elicit an acute stress response from martial artists (n=15) and non-martial artists (n=18). To measure the extent of the stress response, we looked at changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and galvanic skin level. These three measures explore both parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, and changes in these variables continue to be explored in studies of stress and reactive aggression. In addition to our physical stressors we also exposed individuals to affective imagery from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Individual levels of aggression were also assessed using the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. Martial artists elicited a stable galvanic skin level while being tapped upon the forehead, and there was a trend that indicated the martial artists were less aggressive.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Neurophysiological Examination Of Stress Control In Martial Artists"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lainy B. Day","Gail Stratton","Dwight E. Waddell"],"dc:creator":["Pemment, Jack"],"dc:date.available":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The philosophies behind many martial arts often claim that by practicing martial arts individuals can gain better control over stress. We tested this idea by using controlled physical stressors to elicit an acute stress response from martial artists (n=15) and non-martial artists (n=18). To measure the extent of the stress response, we looked at changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and galvanic skin level. These three measures explore both parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, and changes in these variables continue to be explored in studies of stress and reactive aggression. In addition to our physical stressors we also exposed individuals to affective imagery from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Individual levels of aggression were also assessed using the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire. Martial artists elicited a stable galvanic skin level while being tapped upon the forehead, and there was a trend that indicated the martial artists were less aggressive.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/904"],"dc:subject":["Aggression","Gsl","Heart Rate","Martial Arts","Rsa","Neurosciences"],"dc:title":["A Neurophysiological Examination Of Stress Control In Martial Artists"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S. in Biological Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z"}