Generalization and dishabituation of the orienting response to a stimulus of lower intensity

Abstract:

An experiment was carried out to investigate generalization and dishabituation of the GSR orienting response by a tonal stimulus of lower intensity than the habituating stimulus. Subjects were 84 young adult male twins. These were divided into two groups, one twin being assigned to each. One group received 32 auditory stimuli at 95 dB intensity with an interstimulus interval of 33 sec. The other group differed only in that the 22nd stimulus was at 65 dB. It was found that the quieter stimulus produced a significantly larger GSR response than did the control group stimulus in the same position. Significant dishabituation of the responses to the subsequent stimuli was also found. No concomitant changes in basal GSR were found. The results were discussed in terms of the habituation theories of Sokolov (1960, 1963) and of Groves and Thompson (1970). It was felt that the best explanation was directly in terms of expectancy rather than of any neurophysiologies theory. © 1976, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.