Behavioral and Physiological Effects of False Heart Rate Feedback: A Replication and Extension.

Three experiments were conducted to study the behavioral and physiological effects of false heart rate feedback. These experiments were based on a paradigm advanced by Valins (1966) who stressed that the mere belief that one's heart beat is changing, regardless of actual physiological changes, is sufficient to affect behavior. The three experiments involved (1) a replication of Valins' original study with a closer examination of actual physiological responses, (2) examination of the role which subject attention plays, and (3) a substitution of unpleasant stimuli for the pictures of nude females used in the earlier studies. It was concluded that what Valins ascribed to merely the belief that physiological actions were occurring may have, in fact, been due to actual physiological changes precipitated by a general attention factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]