Operant modification of electrodermal responses : an analysis of individual behaviour

Hopkinson, Peter (1987) Operant modification of electrodermal responses : an analysis of individual behaviour. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

This thesis examined the claim that electrodermal responses (EDRs), which are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, could be conditioned as operants. The research employed single-subject design (SSD) methodology with systematic replication procedures to investigate these effects at the level of the individual. No evidence was found of direct operant conditioning of EDRs, and it is suggested that previous research findings may have also been contaminated by undetected mediation.After describing the historical antecedents of autonomic modification (biofeedback), the reasons for investigating operant conditioning of EDRs were outlined. An overview of this research confirmed that the majority of researchers claimed to have obtained conditioning effects with EDRs. However, a critical reappraisal of this literature, using a framework derived from conventional operant research, failed to find substantive evidence that EDRs can be modified directly by the provision of consequences.Two group design experiments yielded results which were comparable to those obtained in the research literature, but demonstrated the limitations of this approach. An initial set of ten SSD experiments produced only one participant exhibiting changes in EDR rate consistent with an operant conditioning interpretation. More sophisticated SSD experiments were designed to investigate the influence of other independent variables (e.g., feedback) and resulted in all participants achieving large scale changes in EDR rate. However, by independently manipulating reinforcement contingencies and instructions and by demonstrating that response rates always conformed with instructions, it was shown that these changes were the product of covert mediating behaviours. This result was confirmed by three further SSD experiments using techniques of systematic replication. A final set of three SSD experiments showed that changes in EDR rate did not occur in the absence of an initial reinforcement contingency.These results suggest that changes in EDR rate only reflect changes in rate of covert precurrent operant behaviours that are rule-governed rather than contingency-shaped. They are discussed from two perspectives. First, their contribution to contemporary understanding of determinants of human operant behaviour in terms of rule-governed behaviour is considered. Second, their implications for biofeedback research and practice are reviewed, paying particular attention to the influence and mediating behaviours and the status of the autonomic response in these procedures.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Download statistics