EFFECTS OF ATTENTION AND ACTIVATION ON VISUAL EVOKED CORTICAL POTENTIAL AND REACTION TIME

In the present study an attempt has been made to assess the relative contributions of arousal and attentional factors affecting the amplitude of the visual evoked cortical potential and reaction time latency. Subjects were studied under the following four conditions: (1) passively watching a small, dim, intermittent flash; (2) reacting to each flash by releasing a lever, thereby giving a reaction time; (3) reacting to each flash within a specified period of time in order to avoid an uncomfortable shock to the fingers; (4) reacting to each flash while receiving occasional unavoidable shock. Statistical analyses revealed that the evoked potentials recorded during the avoidable shock condition (3) were significantly larger than during the other three conditions. Reaction times were routinely shorter during condition 3, followed by the no‐shock (2) and then unavoidable shock (4) conditions. Copyright © 1969, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved