OPERANT SALIVARY CONDITIONING IN MAN

Abstract

ABSTRACT Operant conditioning of the human parotid salivary response was attempted in order to bypass some of the difficulties encountered in classical conditioning procedures. Spontaneous, unstimulated parotid saliva was collected from two groups of human subjects under two reward conditions. One group was rewarded for salivary peaks, defined as an increase in on‐going salivary rate to a criterion of 3 drops/5 sec; the other was rewarded only at times of non‐peaking or minimal salivation. A significant increase in the number of peaks was found in the “peak reward” group, hut there was no change in salivary rate in the “non‐peak reward” group. The data demonstrate salivary conditioning in human subjects by means of operant reward technique.