Failures of information to reduce rated aversiveness of unmodifiable shock
Titel:
Failures of information to reduce rated aversiveness of unmodifiable shock
Auteur:
Furedy, John J. Chan, Randolph M.
Verschenen in:
Australian journal of psychology
Paginering:
Jaargang 23 (1971) nr. 1 pagina's 85-94
Jaar:
1971-04-01
Inhoud:
In Exp. I, information about shock onset times was varied between 3 groups of 30 Ss where shocks were, respectively, predictable by temporal signalling (Cond. I: constant 20-sec. inter-shock intcrval), unpredictable (Cond. II: inter-shock intervals varied from 10-30 sec.), and predictable by conventional signalling (Cond. III: tone or light preceding each irregularly presented shock by 5 sec.). A form of the probe-stimulus (PS) technique was used to obtain independent measures of fear. Rated aversiveness of shocks did not vary as a function of information (Conds. I, II, and III). There was, however, reliable evidence for the presence of conventionally-signalled conditional fear under Cond. III. In Exp. II, to avoid a possible source of confounding, the PS technique was not used. Conds. I and II were readministered to two new 30-Ss groups. Information again failed to reduce the rated aversiveness of temporally signalled shocks. Moreover, the two concomitant, shock-elicited, autonomic measures, GSR and digital volume pulse change, failed to show a differential rate of decline as a function of information (Conds. I vs. II), although both measures declined reliably over trials.
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