Clarifying the nature of startle habituation using latent curve modeling.
Startle habituation is present in all startle studies, whether as a dependent variable, discarded habituation block, or ignored nuisance. However, there is still much that remains unknown about startle habituation, including the following: (1) what is the nature of the startle habituation curve?; (2) at what point does startle habituation approach an asymptote?; and (3) are there gender differences in startle habituation? The present study investigated these three questions in a sample of 94 undergraduates using both traditional means-based statistical methods and latent curve modeling. Results provided new information about the nature of the startle habituation curve, indicated that the optimal number of habituation trials with a 100dB startle stimulus is 13, and showed that females display greater startle reactivity but habituate toward the same level as males.
Psychology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. slane@unc.edu
Stephanie T
ST
Lane
Joseph C
JC
Franklin
Patrick J
PJ
Curran
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011601:Psychophysics; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult