ISSN:
1469-8986
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
,
Psychology
Notes:
This study attempts to assess Bundy's 1974 report that electrodermal recovery rate (ERR) can be accurately predicted by a variable, X, based on the recency and amplitude of prior activity. Five different types of assessment were made with the following results. (1) ERR was significantly related to X in two paradigms which avoided the temporal constraints of Bundy's experiment. (2) ERR of responses to repeated reaction time stimuli could be altered by controlling the magnitude of X. (3) A change in stimulus from a reaction time signal to a loud noise failed to change ERR when the value for X was held constant and when response amplitude was treated as a covariate. (4) The rank order of ERRs for reaction time signals and for loud sounds could be reversed by controlling the magnitude of X. (5) Differences in ERR associated with a cold pressor exposure and a mirror tracing task were reevaluated taking into account prior activity. Analysis of covariance with Bundy's X as the covariate failed to erase the difference. However, with a new covariate, namely the number of electrodermal responses in the 15 sec before the measured response, the difference in ERR became nonsignificant. In agreement with Bundy, prior activity appears to represent a major determinant of recovery rate. It is suggested that for those studies reporting ERR differences, attention should be focused on the biobehavioral implications of the likely differences in prior activity.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1981.tb01534.x
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