OPERANT CONDITIONING OF HEART RATE SPEEDING

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to see if heart rate (HR) speeding could be operantly conditioned. Five experimental S s and five yoked‐control S s were studied. Experimental S s were positively reinforced for speeding their HR on a beat‐by‐beat basis, whereas yoked‐control S s were reinforced in a pattern based on the performance of paired experimental S s. The data showed that: all S s learned to speed their HR; some yoked‐controls responded with a pattern of response that included increased HR; and the techniques which S s use to regulate their HR vary widely from one S to another.