IMPORTANCE OF SPATIAL LOCATION IN ACTIVE AVOIDANCE TASKS

MALE ALBINO RATS WERE TRAINED IN 4 DIFFERENT ACTIVE AVOIDANCE PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SPATIAL AND VISUAL CUES. THE DATA SUGGESTED THAT RATS LEARN THESE TASKS BY ASSOCIATING NOXIOUS STIMULATION WITH A PARTICULAR SPATIAL LOCATION. AN ANALYSIS WHICH CONSIDERED THE 2-WAY ACTIVE AVOIDANCE TASK AS IF IT WERE COMPOSED OF 2 SEPARATE 1-WAY ACTIVE AVOIDANCE TASKS SHOWED THE REGULAR PATTERN OF ACQUISITION TYPICALLY FOUND IN THE 1-WAY TASK. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERFORMANCE IN THE 1- AND 2-WAY TASKS WAS IN THE NUMBER OF TRIALS TO THE 1ST CORRECT RESPONSE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.