Skin conductance, heart rate, and attention to the environment in two stressful situations

Abstract

Physiological and behavioral responses to two stressful situations were studied in the context of an experiment on affiliation, Male Ss were threatened with either the prospect of electric shock or the prospect of sucking on infantile oral objects. The threat of shock was associated with an increase in both skin conductance and heart rate and in a decrease in looking around the room. The threat of sucking on infantile objects was associated with an increase in skin conductance, heart-rate deceleration, and an increase in the duration of looking around the room. © 1970, Psychonomic Journals, Inc.. All rights reserved.