title: Schedule-induced electrodermal responding in children.
abstract: The current studies were designed to determine whether different intermittent schedules of reinforcement would have a differential effect on the skin conductance responses (SCRs) of children in the 8-12-year-old age range. Results of two experiments indicated that the amplitude of children's SCRs immediately following the occurrence of reinforcement were a function of the schedule of reinforcement, with larger SCRs associated with longer inter-reinforcement intervals. The findings are consistent with the research literature suggesting that long inter-reinforcement intervals can be evocative of aversively motivated emotions, as well as with research on the effects of interstimulus intervals on SCRs. Possible implications for these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Latzman
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Knutson
authors.forename: Don C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Fowles
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013997:Time Factors