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“Cognitive Regulation of Autonomic Responses”
Co-authors: Arnold Katz, PH.D.,
Loren Webb, M.A.
Ezra Stotland, PH.D.
The purpose of the experiment was to study the effect of cognitive processes on autonomic responses. The galvanic skin response (GSR) was used as a measure of autonomic responsiveness. Thirty-four undergraduate students were subjects. Electrodes were placed on two fingers on their right hands, earphones were placed on their heads, shock electrodes were placed on their legs and they were told that they merely had to listen to word sounds which would come over the earphones.
A different cognitive conditioning procedure was used for each of the three groups into which the subjects were divided. The “straight” group members received an electric shock every time they heard the word “cat.” The intensity of the shock—which was considered uncomfortable but not painful—was chosen beforehand by each subject. The “threat” group were told that they would sometimes receive a shock when they heard the word “cat.” The intensity of the shock level was chosen beforehand by each subject. The third, or “variable” group, received an electric shock every time they heard the word “cat.” These subjects did not preselect their shock level and were told that they would receive unpredictable intensities of shock each time following the word “cat.” After the cognitive conditioning procedures, the experimenter stopped the word presentations, gave each subject a one-minute rest and then continued with terminal “extinction” procedures. The shock electrodes were removed from the shin bones of the subjects who were then told that they would hear the word presentations without any shock.
The difference between the “variable” shock group and each of the other two groups was statistically highly significant. Initially there was no significant difference between the magnitude of the autonomic response for the three groups during the conditioning procedure. In contrast to the other groups, the