Could popping air capsules affect state anxiety?

The present study examined whether popping air capsules affects students' state anxiety. One group of university students were asked to pop air capsules for 5 min. (experimental group); another group did nothing (the control group). Both groups were tested on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Analyses showed that there was a difference in mean State Anxiety scores between the two groups, with the control group having a lower mean than the experimental group, which was contrary to our expectation. The findings are discussed in relation to an earlier published study of the effects of popping air capsules on changing a person's mood.