Decreased skin conductance response habituation in chronically anxious patients

Abstract

Skin conductance response (SCR) habituation to loud tones was tested in chronically anxious patients and controls matched for age, sex and occupation. The results replicate Lader and Wing's finding of slowed response habituation in the patient group. These results are discussed in light of the Lader and Wing model attributing anxiety-proneness to an innate slowness in habituating to stimulation. Two factors which in themselves could cause slowed response habituation were present in the patient group during testing: increased physiological activity and increased threat appraisal. The latter resulted in the patients' frequently attributing signal value to the irrelevant tones. Because of the presence of these contaminating factors, the decreased response habituation in the patient groups can be considered only weak evidence in support of the slowed habituation model. Since the excessive test anxiety in the patient group contributes to both increased physiological activity and increased threat appraisal, it is suggested that SCR habituation testing be undertaken when both patient and control groups can be brought to equivalent states of relaxation.