An examination of the role played by meaning of feedback and attention to feedback in the "Valins effect".

This study assesses the role played by the variables of meaning and attention in mediating the cognitive effects of false autonomic feedback, first reported by Valins. In the context of a study of the physiological correlates of selective attention, subjects were instructed either to attend or to ignore pulsed sounds that were described either as veridical heart rate feedback or simply as electronic "bleeps." These auditory stimuli were presented in parallel with slides illustrating skin diseases. Consistent with previous findings, slides associated with acceleration of the pulsed sounds were subsequently rated as significantly more unpleasant than those associated with no change in the speed of these sounds. However, this effect was not contingent on the apparent meaning of these sounds (heart rate vs bleeps) but was contingent on the degree of attention paid to the sounds. The "Valins effect" was only obtained when subjected attended to the sounds. The implications of these findings for the interpretation of the cognitive effects of false autonomic feedback are discussed.