OPERANT CONDITIONING OF HEART RATE SPEEDING

The purpose of this study was to see if heart rate (HR) slowing could be operantly conditioned. Ten experimental Ss and five yoked-control Ss were studied. Experimental Ss were positively reinforced for slowing their HR on a beat-by-beat basis, whereas yoked-control Ss were reinforced in a pattern based on the performance of paired experimental Ss. The data showed that: some Ss can be taught to slow their HR by means of an operant conditioning procedure; Ss appear to learn better when they do not infer correctly what the response is that they are controlling; the conditioned HR response is apparently not mediated by changes in breathing; and reinforcement, per se, is not adequate to lower HR.