Heart rate as a minimal cue for the occurrence of vicarious classical conditioning.

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Abstract
Tested the hypothesis that minimal cues from a model (i.e., information about changes in the heart rate of a model interpreted by an O as caused by either noxious or innocuous antecedents) are sufficient to produce vicarious classical conditioning effects. The design used 4 groups of 12 male undergraduates each. 3 groups heard the heart beats of a model who was ostensibly being shocked during a period of white noise which followed a tone. A 4th group thought the noise was caused by a slide projector. Among those Ss hearing a model being "shocked," 1/3 heard a change of heart rate after each shock, 1/3 heard no change in heart rate, and the remaining 1/3 were a sensitization control group. The Ss' heart rate was recorded, and a postexperimental questionnaire was administered. A pronounced and significant decelerative cardiac response was found in the interstimulus interval for the experimental condition as compared to the 3 control groups combined. Thus, vicarious conditioning effects were obtained using only the model's heart rate as a cue to his emotional response. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

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