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The Application of the Preparatory‐Response Hypothesis to Changes in Base Skin Resistance
Author(s) -
Champion R. A.,
Hodge R.
Publication year - 1983
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.1469-8986.1983.tb00902.x
Subject(s) - psychology , tonic (physiology) , skin conductance , constant (computer programming) , shock (circulatory) , intensity (physics) , constant current , mechanics , audiology , social psychology , current (fluid) , neuroscience , optics , thermodynamics , physics , medicine , computer science , biomedical engineering , programming language
It is deduced from physical principles that the physical intensity (and presumably the painfulness or rated intensity) of a constant‐current shock should decrease with lowered skin resistance whereas that of a constant‐voltage shock should increase. In terms of the preparatory‐response hypothesis, therefore, base skin resistance should fall as a tonic response to background cues with constant‐current shocks and rise with constant‐voltage shocks. By the same token, interpolated shocks of the opposite kind in each case should be rated as more intense than those of the same kind. These predictions were confirmed experimentally.