Psychophysiological Correlates of Response Time to High Intensity Auditory Stimuli,
Abstract
The present study was concerned with physiological correlates of response time to high intensity, 'unexpected' auditory stimuli. Twenty-five male college students served as subjects. Stimuli for all subjects consisted of an initial 110 db tone followed by a series of 50 tones of 75 db and a final 110 db tone. Subject's response consisted of moving a control stick as rapidly as possible to the onset of each tone. Continuous recordings of heart rate and skin resistance were taken. Autonomic reactivity to the first intense stimulus was found to be positively correlated with response latency, while response time to the final intense stimulus suggests a negative relationship to autonomic levels and reactivity. The primary effect of the second high intensity tone was to significantly exaggerate pre-existing differences between individuals in their reaction time to the preceeding moderate intensity stimuli. Possible relationships of this differential stress response to Pavlovian concepts of excitation and inhibition are briefly discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0858255
Entities
People
- Richard I. Thackray
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory