The relation of electric shock and anxiety to level of performance in eyelid conditioning.

Abstract

In order to ascertain the effect of heightened emotional level upon performance in eyelid conditioning, 3 groups of 20 women Ss each were given 80 conditioning trials. One group was given an occasional electric shock in conjunction with the ready signal preceding the CS; another group was told it might receive such shocks, but actually received them only during a preliminary tryout; and the control group received neither shock nor the threat of shock. The results showed no difference between the shocked Ss and those that received the threat of shock. When these two "shock involved" groups were combined, they showed a reliably higher level of performance than the control group during the earlier stages of conditioning. When each group was divided into upper and lower levels in terms of scores on the Taylor A Scale, the relatively anxious Ss gave more CR''s during the first half of conditioning than did the relatively nonanxious Ss. However, the difference between anxiety levels was signifi- cant in the case of the shock-involved Ss only. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that level of emotionality, as defined by the presence or absence of shock or threat of shock, is related to performance in eyelid conditioning. And, the effect of manifest anxiety upon this performance may be a function of the degree of noxiousness or threat in the experimental situation.