Avoidance Learning in Rodents: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Ten white rats, 8 black rats, 8 hamsters, and 9 guinea pigs received avoidance training in a Skinner box with white noise CS and shock US. "The guinea pigs showed superior avoidance performance to the hamsters and the latter were superior to the white rats, although only equivocally superior to the black rats (p = .06). The hamsters were the most active responders, the guinea pigs showed high initial rates which declined with further testing, and the rats showed low initial rates which gradually increased." In a second experiment, response frequency of 16 guinea pigs, 16 hamsters, and 18 white rats was determined in the absence of shock with and without the white noise CS. "The pattern of results obtained suggests that the differences in avoidance performance among the species are related to differences in their lever-pressing propensities in the absence of shock and that the type of CS used in important".