MAGNITUDE OF ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSE TO A STANDARD STIMULUS AS A FUNCTION OF INTENSITY AND PROXIMITY OF A PRIOR STIMULUS

When successive stimuli elicit multiple GSRs, the response to the 2nd stimulus may be determined by properties of the preceding response. To test these relationships 27 undergraduates were administered paired-noise stimuli in which the properties of the 1st noise were varied by changes in intensity (80, 90, and 98 db.) and duration (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 sec.). The 2nd noise had standard intensity and duration (100 db., 2 sec.) starting at the offset of the 1st stimulus. Magnitude of GSR to the 2nd stimulus varied systematically with 1st stimulus intensity and duration. The more intense the 1st stimulus and the shorter the interstimulus interval, the smaller was the magnitude of response to the 2nd stimulus. An interference explanation was postulated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.