Electrodermal habituation and subjective response: Effects of manifest anxiety and autonomic arousal.

Studied the effects of cortical function and individual differences on galvanic skin response (GSR) habituation to tones of low and moderate intensity. 40 female undergraduates were divided into high- and low-anxious groups, on the basis of their Taylor Manifest Anxiety scale scores, and into high- and low-arousal groups, on the basis of their resting-level GSR activity. High-anxious Ss perceived nonchanging, nonnoxious moderate and low tones as increasing in intensity over trials while their electrodermal responses to the tones were habituating. Although the low-anxious group and the high- and low-arousal groups also showed electrodermal habituation, there were no significant effects of trials for intensity ratings. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)