Stimulus generalization as a function of level of experimentally induced anxiety.

Abstract

Seventy-two male psychiatric patients and an equal number of college males were each divided into three anxiety groups, effected by the use of two different intensities of shock and a buzzer, and then tested for the generalization of a voluntary response to visual stimuli. Typical negatively decelerated generalization gradients of frequency and amplitude of response were obtained in the normal and psychiatric groups. Latency of response yielded the inverse of a generalization function. Strong shock resulted in significantly higher and flatter generalization gradients than either weak shock or buzzer with both normal and psychiatric subjects. No differences were found between the effects of a weak shock and a buzzer. It was concluded that experimentally induced anxiety shows the energizing function of a drive in elevating generalization gradients.