PSYCHOLOGY: Effects of Fidget Toys on Physiological and Psychological Stress

Publication Date

2025

Presentation Length

15 minutes

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Michael Oliver

WELL Core Type

Intellectual Wellness

SPARK Session

Sensation and Perception II

Presentation Type

Talk/Oral

Summary

Job interviews are known to elicit stress as college students prepare to enter the job market. It is important to identify ways to regulate stress in job interviews because it could lead to better outcomes for interviewees. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of fidget toys on reducing physiological and psychological stress. We sampled 35 college students and conducted mock job interviews while measuring each participant’s physiological stress levels (i.e., skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure) throughout the interview. We hypothesized that participants who were given well-designed, recognizable fidget toys would show decreased levels of physiological stress throughout the interview, while participants given nothing would show persisting stress levels. Data analysis is ongoing, but we expect to find that fidget toys were a stress reliever for people in job interviews. These findings would imply that organizations could gather more accurate data during the hiring process by offering interviewees the option to use a fidget toy to regulate stress. This way, hiring decisions could be based on data that is not as clouded by the inherent stress of job interviews. Further elaboration on the results and implications of this study will be presented upon completion.

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