PHASIC HEART RATE CHANGES AS AN INDICATOR OF SELECTED COGNITIVE PROCESSES

• Authors: Rynkiewicz A.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The phasic heart rate reaction accompanying an important stimulus display is a well known response in the field of psychophysiology. It is so universal in empirical practice, that it can be referred to as a response pattern. Nevertheless, a considerable replicability of the reaction's curve shape and high consistence of the conditions evoking it, have not yet resulted in formulating unequivocal theoretical model explaining the psychological background to this phenomenon. In the article I present the most prominent conceptions whose authors try to create a coherent psychophysiological picture of the heart rate fluctuations before and after exposition of a stimulus. These conceptions can be divided into two categories relative to the applied experimental paradigm. The first one is based on findings from the studies in which a typical signalled reaction time tasks were used. In this case the phasic changes in the heart rate are of anticipatory character. The second category applies to the models based on the well known orienting response theory and therefore using a sudden unexpected stimulus in the experimental paradigm. In that case the observed phenomenon is viewed as reactive in relation to the stimulus. Presenting the above mentioned conceptions I also included the inferences from psychophysiological studies that grant new insights and can make important contribution to the existing psychological theories. Multitude of ideas does not serve the clarity of description, that is why, in the recapitulation I try to emphasise the common aspects of the ideas. Although I mention the facts that indicate certain discrepancies between the presented approaches, most of all I focus on the facts that allow me to make a unified interpretation.

Keywords

EN

COGNITIVE PROCESSES; PHASIC HEART RATE

Discipline

• PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY

• Publisher: Interdyscyplinarne Centrum Genetyki Zachowania (ICGZ) Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
• Journal: Psychologia-Etologia-Genetyka
• Year: 2005
• Volume: 12
• Pages: 59-86
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Rynkiewicz A.

• A.Rynkiewicz, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Wydzial Psychologii, ul. Stawki 5-7, 00-183 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

06PLAAAA00801953