Pavlovian conditioning of the human salivary response.
Item
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Title
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Pavlovian conditioning of the human salivary response.
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Identifier
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AAI3008870
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identifier
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3008870
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Creator
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Shultz, Barbara A.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Nancy Hemmes
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Behavioral
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Abstract
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This study examined the magnitude (weight in grams) of the human salivary conditioned response (CR) during baseline, acquisition, and extinction trials when under a Pavlovian conditioning procedure. The compound conditioned stimulus (CS) was a 15-s tone and 0.1 ml of a vanilla solution, and the unconditioned stimulus (US) was 3 ml of lemonade placed in the mouth. Five subjects, between the ages of 29 and 45, participated. A within-subject-reversal design was used to assess individual response patterns for both the acquisition and extinction of the conditioned response. All subjects showed an increase in conditioned salivary responding on test trials during the Acquisition Phase when compared with level of salivary responding during the Baseline Phase, regardless of their initial levels of salivation during the Baseline Phase. Additionally, four of the five subjects showed a decrease in conditioned salivary responding during the Extinction Phase when compared with salivary responding on test trials during the Acquisition Phase. Salivary responding was variable between subjects as indicated by the mean, range, and standard deviation of salivary responses and by the speed of acquisition and extinction of salivary responses. The intersubject variability of the current study supports the use of a within-subject design and presentation of individual data over successive trials. Group data may obscure the results of individual subjects and may partially account for the inconsistent findings in the literature. In contrast, the present individual-subject data permit increased precision for analysis of the behavior processes involved in conditioned salivary responding.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
