For 20 subjects reaction times and force of response were measured on a simple reaction time task to visual stimuli while activation was manipulated by occasionally delivering a noninformative electrical shock. In blocks in which shocks were delivered, forces of response were larger than those in control blocks without shocks. The results are discussed in terms of Sanders' mode! of stress.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AngelA. (1973) Input-output relations in simple reaction time experiments. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 25, 193–200.
2.
ColavitaF. B. (1974) Insular-temporal lesions and vibrotactile temporal pattern discrimination in cats. Physiology and Behavior, 12, 215–218.
3.
GirayM. (1990) Über die Aktivierung der menschlichen Motorik: theoretische und experimentelle Analysen bei Reaktionsaufgaben. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Institut für Psychologie, Tübingen.
4.
GirayM., & UlrichR. (1993) Motor coactivation revealed by response force in divided and focused attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 19, 1278–1291.
5.
JaśkowskiP.RybarczykK.JaroszykF., & LemańskiD. (in press) The effect of stimulus intensity on force output in simple reaction time task. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis.
6.
JaśkowskiP.VerlegerR., & WascherE. (in press) Response force and reaction time in a simple reaction task under time pressure. Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
7.
JenningsJ. R.AverillJ. R.OptonE. M., & LazarusR. S. (1971) Some parameters of heart-rate changes: perceptual versus motor requirements, noxiousness and uncertainty. Psychophysiology, 1, 194–212.
8.
JohnsonT. L., & ShapiroK. L. (1989) Attention to auditory and peripheral visual stimuli: effects of arousal and predictability. Acta Psychologica, 72, 233–245.
9.
LuceR. D. (1986) Response times: their role of inferring elementary mental organization. Oxford, UK: Oxford Univer. Press.
NissenM. J. (1977) Stimulus intensity and information processing. Perception & Psychophysics, 22, 338–352.
12.
PosnerM.NissenM-J., & KleinR. (1976) Visual dominance: an information-processing account of its origins and significance. Psychological Review, 83, 157–171.
13.
SandersA. F. (1983) Towards a model of stress and human performance. Acta Psychologica, 53, 61–97.
14.
ShapiroK. L.EgermanB., & KleinR. M. (1974) Human sensory dominance. Perception & Psychophysics, 16, 409–416.
15.
ShapiroK. L., & JohnsonT. L. (1987) Effects of arousal on attention to central and peripheral visual stimuli. Acta Psychologica, 66, 157–172.
16.
SomsenR. J. M.van der MolenM. W., & OrlebekeJ. F. (1983) Phasic heart rate changes in reaction time, shock avoidance, and unavoidable shock tasks: are hypothetical generalizations about S1-S2 task justified?Psychophysiology, 20, 88–94.
17.
UlrichR., & WingA. M. (1991) A recruitment theory of force-time relations in the production of brief force pulses: the parallel force unit model. Psychological Review, 98, 268–294.
18.
van der MolenM. W.SomsenR. J. M.JenningsJ. R.NieuwboerR. T., & OrlebekeJ. F. (1987) A psychophysiological investigation of cognitive/energetic relation in human information processing: a heart rate/additive factors approach. Acta Psychologica, 66, 251–289.