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Biomedical subjects

R A McFarland

Publications and source records attributed to R A McFarland.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Sex differences in finger temperature response to music.

A finding of significant sex differences in finger temperature responses to stimuli would have implications for a variety of situations in which finger temperature changes in combination with other psychophysiological measures are employed as indicators of psychological and/or physiological states. In the present study, each subject listened to one of two distinct musical selections for 3-minutes and 40-seconds after being allowed to adapt for one of five durations ranging from 4 to 20 minutes. Females' finger temperatures decreased more or increased less than did males' finger temperatures. This finding held no matter which music was played and was true for all but the shortest adaptation duration. Control data indicated that the sex difference would not have occurred in the absence of the music, and thus the results suggest that females' finger temperatures decrease more than males' only when stimulation occurs. Possible causes of the sex difference are discussed as well as possible implications for studies in which finger temperature is employed as a dependent variable.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1990

Music during learning of a tactual-spatial task affects later response generalization.

Equal numbers of men and women learned a finger maze, with half of the subjects initially using their right hands and the other half using their left hands. To reach criterion, subjects receiving music in the ear ipsilateral to the hand used required more trials than did those receiving no music. Furthermore, when the right hand ran the maze, music played to the ipsilateral ear also delayed learning, compared with music played contralaterally. Binaural music delayed learning when the left hand was used but not when the right hand was used. Possible causes of these effects are suggested. When subjects switched hands and relearned the maze, the number of trials to criterion depended on the group subjects were in during initial learning and not on the group they were in during the hand reversal (response generalization) trials. Although the music condition used determined the effect of music on initial learning and on response generalization, some evidence is presented that indicates that the two effects are not entirely interdependent and that they may even involve different mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Asymmetry in the relationship between finger temperature changes and emotional state in males.

Eighty male college students each listened to monaural music that was intended to cause either positive-valence emotions (e.g., happiness) or negative-valence emotions (e.g., unhappiness). When the music was to the left ear, subjects' finger temperature changes during the music correlated significantly with the subjects' ratings of the valence of the emotions they experienced during the music. When the music was to the right ear, finger temperature changes were not different during positive- versus during negative-valence music, and the subjective reports did not correlate significantly with the finger temperature changes. The results are interpreted as indicating that the extent to which males' autonomic responses, such as finger temperature changes, reflect the emotional state of the subject depends upon which cerebral hemisphere is more involved in the processing of the emotion-generating stimulus. Theoretical and practical aspects of this finding are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Music affects learning of a braille-like task by sighted subjects.

24 consistently right-handed male college students felt sets of four Braille symbols with either the right or the left index finger and identified by touch alone which two of the four symbols in each set were identical. During the task music was played to either the right ear, the left ear, both ears, or neither ear. Significantly fewer errors were made when the music was in the ear contralateral to whichever hand performed the task. The ipsilateral, binaural, and no-music groups did not differ significantly from each other. It is suggested that monaural music to the ear contralateral to the engaged hand led to reduced interhemispheric competition acting on the hemisphere controlling the hand. Such a facilitating effect may be of practical importance in tasks during which one hemisphere received the bulk of the task-related sensory input and/or processes the final order from the brain to the task-related muscles.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Handedness affects emotional valence asymmetry.

Music was played monaurally to 80 right-handed and 80 left-handed subjects. Right-handers reported more positive and less negative effect if the music was to the right ear. Left-handers reported experiencing more positive and less negative effect during music to the left ear. The hand x ear interaction was significant. The valence of emotional responses to the music seems influenced by a combination of at least two factors, (1) differences between left- and right-handers in the cerebral processing of emotional valence and (2) differences in the processing of emotional valence within each handedness group depending upon which hemisphere was initially most strongly engaged by the music. These results partially corroborate and extend stimuli were presented tachistoscopically or dichotically. It is concluded that, while there is hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of emotional valence, the direction of the asymmetry may be associated with the handedness of the subjects.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1985

Relationship of skin temperature changes to the emotions accompanying music.

One hundred introductory psychology students were given tasks that caused their skin temperatures to either fall or rise. Then they listened to two musical selections, one of which they rated as evoking arousing, negative emotions while the other was rated as evoking calm, positive emotions. During the first musical selection that was presented, the arousing, negative emotion music terminated skin temperature increases and perpetuated skin temperature decreases, whereas the calm, positive emotion selection terminated skin temperature decreases and perpetuated skin temperature increases. During the second musical selection, skin temperature tended to increase whichever music was played; however, the increases were significant only during the calm, positive emotion music. It was concluded that music initially affects skin temperature in ways that can be predicted from affective rating scales, although the effect of some selections may depend upon what, if any, music had been previously heard.

Arousal↗
PubMed1971

Ergonomics around the world-The United States of America.

The history and development of human factors engineering, or ergonomics, and of the Human Factors Society, is traced for the American scene. Selected problems of current interest are given from the fields of aviation, highway safety, architectural design, environmental control, and consumer products. In conclusion, the more significant areas which might occupy specialists in this field during the next decade are emphasized.

Journal Article↗