Social Interaction and GSR Activity During Group Psychotherapy

Abstract

In an interpretation of the group therapy situation as a complex stimulus field, 37 therapy sessions were studied with reference to the nature of the association between a physiological parameter (GSR) and dimensions of social interaction. The group, consisting of a nurse-therapist and two schizophrenic patients, was observed and coded in terms of 11 social categories. The social behavior of the group and its component members was correlated with the continuous and synchronous GSR recordings, using the total session as the varying unit. The GSR was interpreted as an index of meaningfulness (affective response and level of adaptive mobilization) and was variously and significantly associated with parameters of social interaction depending upon the subject's position in the group, her stated areas of concern, and the nature of the individual relationships as they developed in the group.