Effects of stimulus omission and stimulus novelty on dishabituation of the skin conductance response.

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present experiment (N=64) examined the effects of stimulus omission and stimulus novelty on dishabituation of the skin conductance response. During the training phase, subjects received 15 S1‐S2 pairings. On trial 16, S2 was omitted for one group, replaced by an experimentally‐novel stimulus for a second, and replaced by an experimentally‐familiar stimulus for a third. The control group simply received a further S1–S2 pairing on trial 16. All groups received a further S1–S2 pairing on trial 17. Tone, white noise, light, and vibration served equally often as experimental events, and responses to S1 and to S2 on trial 17 constituted the data of primary interest. The data indicated that both stimulus omission and stimulus novelty on trial 16 produced dishabituation to S2 on trial 17, whereas presentation in an unexpected position of an experimentally‐familiar stimulus did not. The results are discussed in terms of the concept of priming.