Determinants of human operant heart rate conditioning: a systematic investigation of several methodological issues.

Three methodological issues of concern within the literature on human operant heart rate conditioning were assessed utilizing a number of techniques for data reduction. The type of statistical approach largely determined the conclusions to be drawn about 2 issues: (a) differences and similarities between heart rate acceleration and deceleration learning and (b) changes in conditioning over a number of sessions. Three techniques yielded data that confounded between- and within-session shifts in tonic heart rate. A fourth method of data reduction (contrasts between pretrial and trial responding) involved no such difficulty. This method of analysis most accurately represented changes in operant heart rate that occurred within and between conditioning sessions.