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Heart Rate and Somatic Concomitants of Mental Imagery
Author(s) -
Jones Gary E.,
Johnson Harold J.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1980.tb00160.x
Subject(s) - habituation , psychology , mental image , audiology , developmental psychology , heart rate , cognitive psychology , cognition , neuroscience , medicine , blood pressure , radiology
This investigation further explored the relationship between image activity level and the magnitude of cardiac acceleration during mental imagery. Somatic involvement was manipulated by instructions to tense or relax during imagination of preselected imagery stimuli and through a tense‐only control procedure. In addition, images were repeated 10 times to permit an analysis of rate or degree of response habituation. Forty‐eight subjects were divided into four groups who were instructed to image only, tense while imagining, relax while imagining, and tense‐only using a time‐locked pacing methodology. High and low activity images were found to elicit clear differential cardiac responding with significantly greater acceleration produced to high activity images. However, associated change was also noted in several somatic and respiratory measures. Results also showed that biphasic cardiac activity during imagery was similar but not identical to that produced by somatic tension. Habituation appears most prominent over the first three or four repetitions, but significant responding was maintained on the tenth repetition. Self‐report measures indicated that physiological state or group instructions may alter important image characteristics.