RATE OF LEARING AND AUTONOMIC DIVERGENCE
Abstract
The possible relationships between rate learning and autonomic activity were studied in 26 Ss who were given a list of nine, two-place numbers to learn by the method of serial anticipation. Measurements were made of heart rate, heart-rate variability, pulse velocity, conductance level, and frequency of gsr activity during the last five minutes of resting and the first five minutes of learning. Rate of learning was not related in any systematic way to mean T scores of the various physiological measures obtained under either resting or learning conditions. There was a suggestion of an inverted U relationship between each S's mean T score across all physiological variables and rate of learning. Poor learners tended to have mean T scores which were either above or below the values obtained for superior learners. Heart-rate variability was the single variable contributing most to the relationship. A significant correlation was obtained between each S's rate of learning and the SD of his five physiological T scores obtained during learning. This finding indicates a tendency for greater autonomic dispersion to be related to decreased learning efficiency. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0284051
Entities
People
- Richard I. Thackray
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory