Effect of Some Personality Variables on Electrical Vestibular Stimulation

Abstract

Seventeen graduate student Ss were divided into higher and lower scoring groups on 13 scales of the MMPI. Their objective and subjective absolute thresholds (RLs) to sinusoidal electrical stimulation at 1.0 and 0.20 cps, applied by electrodes on the mastoid processes, were determined, and a mean difference score between these RLs was calculated. Analyses of variance showed that significant differences were present at 0.20 cps in the objective RLs for the Depression, Social Introversion-Extraversion, and Manifest Anxiety scales, in the subjective RL for Paranoia, and in the difference score for Paranoia. At 1.0 cps, significant differences occurred in the subjective RLs for the Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, and Paranoia scales, and in the difference score for Paranoia. The results with the Manifest Anxiety scale were discussed in terms of a Hull-Spence framework. The lowering of the objective RLs at 0.20 cps was discussed as a possible mechanism for facilitating the appearance of motion sickness symptoms.