Abstract
If frustration is an aversive emotion in humans, then the behavioral increment in vigor of response following discontinuation of a positively reinforced force-contingent leverpress (frustration effect) might reasonably be expected to be accompanied by a gross physiological response such as an increase in skin conductance. The present study tested this hypothesis by means of a double-lever force-contingent reinforcement apparatus in which subjects received a small monetary reward if they pressed the first lever (reward lever) with an amount of force that was greater than 1.5 kg but less than 3.0 kg. Presses on the second lever, designated as a reset lever required for reactivation of the reinforcement mechanism and subsequent presses on the reward lever, were never reinforced, but force of response was measured. Following this procedure, any changes in force on the reset lever could not be attributed to associative strategies gained through familiarity with the reward lever. The results indicated a significant increase in force on the reset lever (frustration effect) following discontinuation of reinforcement on the reward lever (first extinction trial) accompanied by a significant increase in the skin conductance response, evidence that suggests that frustration is an emotion with a physiological basis as well as a behavioral effect. Increases in force of response on the reset lever and correlated increases in the magnitude of the skin conductance response were inversely related to the time of delay between the reward leverpress and the reset leverpress.
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Otis, J., Ley, R. The effects of frustration induced by discontinuation of reinforcement on force of response and magnitude of the skin conductance response. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 31, 97–100 (1993). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334150
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334150