title: Subject expectancy effects in frontal EMG conditioning.
abstract: The influence of subject expectancies on performance has been examined extensively within the framework of behavior therapy but has received little attention within the context of EMG training. This study assessed the effects of subject expectancy on acquisition during frontal EMG conditioning. Prior to conditioning, subjects were either given no expectancy or instructed that learning to control the feedback stimulus would be either easy (high expectancy) or difficult (low expectancy). Subjects in the three expectancy conditions then underwent 20 min of contingent reinforcement for frontal EMG decreases. Three similar groups of no, low, or high expectancy subjects received noncontingent reinforcement. Differential EMG behavior was exhibited between the two no-expectancy groups, with the contingent group reliably lower in EMG activity than that noncontingent. However, differences were not observed between contingent and noncontingent subjects given either low or high expectancy sets. None of the groups could be differentiated on the basis of subjective variables such as anxiety, relaxation, or frustration. These findings suggest that subject expectancies, either positive or negative, interfere with the acquisition of conditioned EMG behavior.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology