Operant reinforcement of a skeletally mediated autonomic response: Uncoupling of the two responses

Abstract

The mediation explanation of the effect of operant reinforcement on autonomic responses assumes that skeletally mediated autonomic responses can be easily and fortuitously conditioned. GSR deflections elicited by deep respirations were operantly reinforced. The two responses became uncoupled: the skeletal (deep respiration) response showed a classic instrumental learning curve; the autonomic response showed great variability and only marginal (E-C) gains during extinction. It is possible that these marginal gains were artifactual since the per cen t of deep respirations eliciting GSRs showed a marked habituation to increasing repetitions of the respiration response.

On the criteria for instrumental autonomic conditioning: A reply to Katkin and Murray.

“…Exactly these results were in fact found in a recent study by Gavalas (1968), which represents the only direct test to date of this mediation model. When subjects were reinforced for GSRs elicited by a deep inspiration, the elicited GSR, as well as other nonspecific GSRs, habituated over training sessions, even though the deep-inspiration oper-ant increased in frequency over the same period.…”

Instrumental conditioning of autonomically mediated responses in human beings.

“…Van Twyver and reported significant differences between conditioned and yoked control groups even when all GSRs that were observed to occur close in time to respiration irregularities or EMG activity were eliminated from their data. Gavalas (1968) reinforced subjects for making deep respirations, which elicited GSRs, and found that the skeletal respiratory response was learned while the GSR habituated. Commenting on the significance of this "decoupling" methodology, she argued, "If observable skeletal mediators of observable autonomic responses do not produce changes that mimic those seen in operant/autonomic conditioning, it becomes highly unreasonable to suppose that unobservable mediators do [Gavalas-Medici, 1972, p.…”

Concerning instrumental autonomic conditioning: A rejoinder.

“…They then suggest that the model is not really viable because the R ans term should habituate. On the face of it, their argument seems reasonable and appears to receive confirmation from a recent experiment by Gavalas (1968) concerning respiration and the GSR. Yet other evidence seems to indicate that the assumption of R ans habituation is probably unwarranted for other somatoautonomic relationships.…”