Some relationships between punishment, stuttering, and galvanic skin responses

The simultaneous effects of response-contingent punishment on stuttering behaviors and the frequency of galvanic skin response (GSR) deflections for 10 subjects were investigated. GSR's and stuttering responses were recorded during base rate, treatment, and extinction conditions. The subjects demonstrated a 50% or greater decrease in stuttering frequency during the treatment condition. Combined data for all subjects indicated that the mean frequency of GSR deflections remained stable or declined across conditions of the study. Analysis of individual data revealed that GSR deflections during treatment as compared with base rate increased for four subjects, remained essentially the same in two subjects, and decreased for four subjects. These results suggest that experimental procedures which result in functional punishment effects on stuttering frequency may not be associated with any predictable pattern on concomitant autonomic arousal.