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Abstract
The heart rate (HR) responses to verbal and nonverbal mental arithmetic tasks were
studied in twenty undergraduate males. The two problem-sets were presented in counterbalanced
order to the subjects. Greater HR responses to verbal, in contrast to nonverbal, arithmetic
were only observed when the verbal arithmetic task was presented first. The peak (maximal)
HR response was also the highest when the verbal arithmetic was presented first to
the subjects. It is concluded that physiological or mechanical components of vocalization
do not affect the HR response to mental arithmetic. However, certain psychological
components, including test-anxiety or motivation, may increase the HR when subjects
have to provide verbal answers during a first exposure to a challenge. This effect
dissipates during the second exposure to the challenge due to habituation.