Effects of punishment on avoidance decrement.

Abstract

Rats were given long-term avoidance conditioning with a wheel-turn response, and with 0-, 1/2, 2-, or 6-sec. inescapable shock as punishment if no avoidance was made. All punishment groups showed severe decline in avoidance responding in the later sessions, though only for the 1/2-sec. group was this clearly a decrement in discriminated avoidance. The 0-sec. group showed a milk decrement and remained superior to all the punishment groups even when transferred to 2-sec. punishment. Transfer sessions at the 0-sec. condition showed punishment to have fairly permanent effects. "Nonescape" behavior increased with amount of inescapable shock.