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Effects of stimulus modality and task condition on blink startle modification and on electrodermal responses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1998

Ottmar V. Lipp ,
David A.T. Siddle  and
Patricia J. Dall
Ottmar V. Lipp
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
David A.T. Siddle
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Patricia J. Dall
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Abstract

Participants in Experiments 1 and 2 performed a discrimination and counting task to assess the effect of lead stimulus modality on attentional modification of the acoustic startle reflex. Modality of the discrimination stimuli was changed across subjects. Electrodermal responses were larger during task-relevant stimuli than during task-irrelevant stimuli in all conditions. Larger blink magnitude facilitation was found during auditory and visual task-relevant stimuli, but not for tactile stimuli. Experiment 3 used acoustic, visual, and tactile conditioned stimuli (CSs) in differential conditioning with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). Startle magnitude facilitation and electrodermal responses were larger during a CS that preceded the US than during a CS that was presented alone regardless of lead stimulus modality. Although not unequivocal, the present data pose problems for attentional accounts of blink modification that emphasize the importance of lead stimulus modality.

Keywords

AttentionEmotionStartleSkin conductancePavlovian conditioningOrienting
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , July 1998 , pp. 452 - 461
Copyright
© 1998 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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Footnotes

Address reprint requests to: Ottmar V. Lipp, Ph.D., School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail: ottmar@psy.uq.edu.au.