Premium
FREE‐OPERANT ESCAPE‐AVOIDANCE OF NOISE BY RATS 1
Author(s) -
Knutson John F.,
Bailey Margaret I.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1974.22-219
Subject(s) - stimulus (psychology) , avoidance learning , noise (video) , avoidance response , escape response , psychology , operant conditioning , conditioning , classical conditioning , audiology , communication , reinforcement , neuroscience , social psychology , medicine , cognitive psychology , computer science , mathematics , statistics , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics)
A series of experiments was conducted to establish free‐operant escape‐avoidance responding in rats using noise as the stimulus. Naive rats did not acquire a bar‐press response on an escape‐avoidance of noise schedule. Similarly, free‐operant responding established using escape‐avoidance of shock was not maintained when noise was substituted for shock. Noise stimuli of 110 dB did maintain responding, but at a lower level than during training, when the noise stimuli had first been paired with shock. Noise stimuli of 97 dB and 87 dB were not effective under those same conditions. Additional rats were trained on a free‐operant escape‐avoidance schedule of shock and then exposed to a delayed conditioning procedure in which noise was the conditioned stimulus and shock was the unconditioned stimulus. When these subjects were then tested with noise alone, two of the three subjects conditioned and tested with 105‐dB noise displayed escape‐avoidance of noise, but none of the rats conditioned and tested at 97 dB displayed escape‐avoidance of noise. The results suggest that free‐operant escape‐avoidance of noise can be demonstrated; Final Acceptance however, only higher intensity noise stimuli that have been paired with shock are effective.