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A test of the validity of the method of constant stimuli as an index of heartbeat detection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2016

TAMERA R. SCHNEIDER ,
CHRISTOPHER RING  and
EDWARD S. KATKIN
TAMERA R. SCHNEIDER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA
CHRISTOPHER RING
Affiliation:
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
EDWARD S. KATKIN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA
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Abstract

A heartbeat detection task, based on the method of constant stimuli (MCS), requires participants to judge which of a series of tones presented at different delays following a heartbeat are coincident with the heartbeat. Two experiments were conducted to test the validity of the MCS in assessing individual differences in the ability to detect heartbeat sensations. The first experiment found the MCS to be valid, in that about one-third of subjects met the criterion for classification as heartbeat detectors when the tones were presented with respect to their actual heartbeats, but only one subject met the criterion when the tones were presented with respect to previously recorded heartbeats. The second experiment manipulated the timing of the comparison intervals (i.e., R + 100–600 ms rather than R + 0–500 ms) to examine the validity of the median R-wave to tone interval as an index of temporal location of perceived heartbeats, and found it to be a valid index.

Keywords

Heartbeat detectionMethod of constant stimuliValidityVisceral perception
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 86 - 89
Copyright
1998 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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