Instrumental escape conditioning in a water tank: Effects of constant reinforcement at different levels of drive stimulus intensity.

Abstract

In an escape conditioning situation, the temperature in a straight alley tank was used to manipulate the intensity of the noxious stimulus (drive), and the independently manipulated differential temperature between the alley and the separate goal tank was used to reduce the noxious stimulus intensity (reinforcement). Four experiments utilizing a total of 342 Ss [subjects] support the conclusion that, for the part of the temperature continuum that is feasible to use with rats, a given differential has the same effect on the acquisition of an escape response regardless of the initial noxious stimulus intensity. Behavioral increments at high intensities are attributed to the response-eliciting properties of these intensity levels.