IMPROVEMENT OF SHUTTLE AVOIDANCE BY HANDLING DURING INTERTRIAL INTERVAL

Rats handled between trials during shuttle avoidance training were superior to those not handled on several measures of avoidance learning; handled rats were inferior to those receiving 1-way training. Ss were 30 male Sprague-Dawley albino rats. A 2nd experiment, with 48 male Sprague-Dawley albino rats, clearly demonstrated that differences between shuttle and 1-way avoidance could not be attributed to differences in handling. Furthermore, hypotheses which explained poor shuttle avoidance by reference to either competing freezing responses or the necessity of entering a previously shocked compartment were by themselves unable to account for the present findings. A modification and synthesis of these hypotheses provide a better account of the present data. It was suggested that freezing will occur only in the presence of fear-motivated conflict and conflict is present only when a new response is required which is opposed to a previously successful response. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.