ROLE OF HABIT AND ANDROGEN LEVEL IN FOOD-SEEKING DOMINANCE AMONG RATS

A highly stable, linear, food-seeking dominance hierarchy emerged from daily pairings of all combinations among a group of 6 male albino Sprague-Dawley castrated rats. Subsequent injections of testosterone to selected Ss failed to alter this initial hierarchy. In 2 subsequent experiments, trials against confederate submissive or dominant Ss were interspersed among the initial, preinjection pairings to equate the total number of wins and losses. A stable hierarchy developed, but now the subsequent effects of androgen level manipulation were readily observed as injected Ss rose to the top of the hierarchy. Results point to the necessity for controlling habit factors in hierarchies where motivational variables are to be assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.