An investigation of somatic anxiety and intelligence in children using the Kaufman-ABC and an Apple IIe program measuring heart rate.

Somatic anxiety during intelligence testing was examined for 43 children in Grades K through 5 by assessing each child's heart rate with an Apple IIe computer program during an administration of the Kaufman-ABC. Heart rate (a measure of somatic anxiety) decreased steadily during the course of the test administration, except for an increase when the one timed subtest (Triangles) was administered. Heart rate during each separate subtest did not correlate significantly with performance on any task. Implications of these preliminary findings are discussed.