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Deer Wr.

Enclosed is your final drnft of the paper

which is to be submitted for publicaticn in the journel Paychonrysioloy.

The erticle as edited has been formally cleared for publication in openlitcrature with the proviso that no Agency affiliation will be reveoled.

Yours truly;

21 Jumè 1967

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OPERAIIT REIFORCEMEIT OF A MEDIATED AUTCHONIC RESPONSE

Backrround:

Howrer and some other psychologists have argued that there are two distinct methcds of conditioning or learning (roughly, classical ccnditioning and instrumental learning). Furthermore they have insisted that instrumental learning cannot be reduced to classical conditioning. and that classical conditioning camnot be explained by the laws of instrunental learning. As evidence, Mowrer points to the fact that autononic responses and skeletal responses are qualitatively different as they are given in nature. "Here we are assuming that behavioral responses are categorically differeat fros emotional responses: the forner are 'voluntary' aná subject to influeuce through reward and punishment (and not conditionable, strictly speaking), whereas the latter are involuntary and conditioaable and not subject to control through reward aná punishiment, or at ieast not in the same way as are the overt behavioral responses."(iowrer, 1960.)

There are everyday instances cr apparent learning of an autononic response through reward; Skinner cites the child who cried "real teers" because tears kad been tollowed by attention and candy in the past, and recently some experimental evidcnce. has suowm that autonoaic responses can be directly modifieù by response contingent reinforcement. however, it is not possiblc to rule cut the effect of akeletal mediating recponses in any or these cases. If the autonomic response in question is cliciteć uy en uncbserved skcletal responsc, it

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is posaible that all of the evidence for appnrent autonomic learning merely reflecte the parasitic reinforcement of the undcrlying skeletal response.

Some authors (Kendier, l962) have insisted that even the poss1bility of akcletal mediators is sufficient to rejcct the hypotnesia of cutonozic learning through direct reinforcemcnt.

The mediation explanation asserts that the mediator is a skcletal response which precedes and elicits the autonoaic response. As a result of rewarding the autonomic response, the skeletal response is parasitically reinforced and learned. Thus it is implied that a typical negatively accelerated learning curve wculd develop for the skcletal response. It is also implied that the variability in the autonomic response can be fuliy explained by the changes in the frequency of the underlying skeletal response.

In the present experiment, it is proposed to set up an explicit mediating akeletal response which elicits a drop in galvanic skin resistance, and then reinforce the elicited sutonomic response.

If the mediation explanation is correct, it should be possible to discover both the negatively accelerated curve.of the skeletal response and to explain the variability of the elicited sutonomic response. It may also be possible to compare these findings with the results of the earlier studies where an eutonomic response was apparently directly reinforced. If the learning curves are very siziler, it vould suggest that an unknown skeletal medintor was responsible for the changes observed in the earlier work.

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It is possible that results fron this study will give us some kind of model of operant learning of autononic reeponses as it occurs in stresaful situations.

Method:

The method will be a fairly direct extension of zethodology used in eerlier studies College age female volunteera will be useá; this will permit a reasonable comparison with the old data. Ten experimental and l0 control subjects will be run, they will be matched for frequency of GSR nonepecific deflections on the first day of the experiment and yoked for schedules of reinforcement for the rerainder of the experinent.

In the tarlier stulies it was observeù that very large respirations occurred intermittently in what was othervise a very regular respiraticn rate. Tuese large respirations were often followed by a GSR deflection. For example, on the last day or the l963 experiment, the eighteen subjects emitted 0 to 26 gross irregularities of respirutions during the twenty minute session with an average of i per subject. Tnese respirations often elicited GSH deflections. Te rate of GER elicitation varied fron l2p for one of the subjects to l00p for four of the subjects; the median was 5ó%. In that exjeriment a special effort wns made to avoid reinforcing respiration-clicited GER deflections. In the present study, it is proposed that these gross irregularities cf' respiraticn be utilized as a.eletel mediators; and that their associated GSR derlcctions be systematicelly reinforced. This response has the acvantage cf beirg relatively

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subtle and not immediately diacernible to the subject.

It is suggested that the responses be ronitored by the experimenter at this point. It would probably be too complicated to set up an automatic reinforcer for what should be e relatively short, contained study.

Otherwise, methodology will follow the earlier studies. All subjects will be given 2 days of adaptation, five days of reinforcement (contingent or yoked) and three deys of extinction. We will follow the policy of having the subjects sit quietly for twenty-five minutes before each day's session of twenty ninutes. All girls will be screened for medical problems and run in between menstrual periods. The experiment should be conducted in a sound-proof constant temperature roos.

Eouipment:

Sanbora GSR with Wenger electrodes, plethysmograph (Kenelco Corp.) pnoumcmoneter.

Data Analysis:

Do you think we can get direct taping of tae cutput of all three variables? In GSR, all we need is a frequency count--amplitude of the deflections does not seen to be inport.nt. Tst should simplify the probles, too, However, zinute by =imute basal resistance counts should be obtained. The fact that basal resistance shifts over the tucnty minute period may present apecial difficulties. On tne plethyszograph

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record, I'd like to take off heart rate (in twenty second intervals) and amplitude (about once every twenty seconds). The respiration record may be the most difficult to automate, if our experience in recording by haná is any indicator. I have amplo samples of ell these, plus e fairly specisic outline of how they were counted by hand.

Once the data are in digital form, we will need individual and group curves on all.three variables. In the past i have used sane rather simple nonparametric statistics for looking at differences. It ia quite clear that the major variuble will be an intra-individual change fron adaptation (days l and 2) to extinetion (days 9 and l0). It has been suggested to me that there is some vay of looking at clusters of all three variables at once as a measure of learning (Hoteling's T). However; I em not sure that with this smali sampie, non-normal data, etc., that that is feasible. Any suggestions?

It seems to me that at this early otege of experimenting, the automstion of ell these things should be kept sinple--to leave roo for changes ia procedure and to maintain quite a bit of flexibility in the systen. We are handicapped by the fact that our background knowledge of ongoing basal rates and individuel differences in GSk nonspecifics, plethysmograph auplitudes, etc. is still uite limitei.

Data Paremeters:

1. Easal Rosistance

In general, all subjects show an increase in busal resistance fro dey one to ten in this kind of stuy. The coutrols tend to show a

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relatively greater increase than the experimental subjecta.

There are side individual differences in besal resistance. In my 196h study, I found that it varied from 61.9 K (M, day 1) to 444.6 K (, dy 5).

Within an individual, a naximum change of about 150-200 K could be seen from day one of the experiment to day ten. Median readings for each day were used as estimates of each subject's daily level.

Basal resistance can show ratner parked change within a daily session for scme individuals. In the lgé); atudy, ct lcast one subject had an incrense of over 200 K fron beginning to end of the twenty rinute aession on day 9 (CJ). Qther sublecto tend to renain quite stable withia ε day's run and froa dny to dey.

In ceneral, subjects with low basal resistance put out a tigh frequency of nonspecifics, while subjects vith high basal resistance produce few nonspecifics. For instance, in the l9Gh study, one subject (NC) had an initial basel resistance of only 6l K and her output of nonspecifies was over 6 per mimute. Another subject with a hign basal resistance (33l K) had a nonapecific rate or .4 per ninute:.

2. Nonspecisics

In the l964 study, experimentals tended to maintain their initial rate of nonspecifics while controls declined.

There are large individual differences in frequeney cf nonspecificc. In the l964 study, the lowest reading on day 1 was .4 per mimute, the high waa over 6 per nimute. Both experimentals and controls show somc

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decline in rate over the ten days, so the range on day l0 is .05 per mimute to about 5 per mimute.

I do not have any current data on amplitude of deflections. The smallest we counted was .4 K and the largest was 50 E, but there were unquestionably larger ones. Data rrom the l962 study suggests that size tends to increase as basal resistance increases fran day one to day ten; medlan aplitude increased as much as three times the day one amplitide (coniuctance readings).

3. Heart Rate

In the 1964 study, experimentals maintained their initial level of heart rate while controls showed a small but consistent decline.

Again, there are fairly large individual differences. In the 1964 study, the eighteen subjects ranged from 61.8 to l04.7 with a standard deviation of 12.8.

Under non-stressful repeated trials, the standard deviation within an individual is about 6 beats per minute. The maximum within individual variation that we saw over days was 15 beats per minute.

4.Plethysmograph

This data is purely ranked deta. On the first day of the 195h study we found that subjects varied frc a minimm emplitule reading to twice that reading. Over the ten day session, controls tended to incresse in amplitude vhile experimentals reucin relatively·constunt. Same subjects doubled their emplitude over the ten days, wile at least one subject showed a reading which was half as large as his initial emplitude.

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Costs:

The heaviest expenses for this study will be tape and computer tine. Each subject is run for 3 1/3 hours. We made some estinates at for this kind of study. I don't know whether these costs

are coparable, but for what they're worth:

Apperatus batteries, etc.

Analog Recorder tape at

Digitel tape at

Computer time. Analog to digital conversion at

Computer time. Digital analysis at

Subjects at

Total

This does not include the cost of a computer programmer to set up the program. We estimated that might take as long as three months and cost about \$