RESPIRATORY AND HEART RATE COMPONENTS OF ATTENTION

Investigated the respiratory and heart rate (HR) components of attentive observation to external stimuli and to an internal stimulus (Ss' own HR). 48 male undergraduates were required to either estimate their HRs, estimate the rate of a series of intermittent tones, count light flashes, or watch a light flash. The various tasks produced no differential effects on respiration, but across tasks there were significant increases in frequency and decreases in amplitude of respiration. Mean HR decreased across trials, and all tasks except watching the light produced significant decreases in HR variance. The HR response pattern during the 1st 10 sec. of each trial differentiated between the groups: HR accelerated for internal observation and decelerated for external observation. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.