Interference effects of escapable shock upon subsequent acquisition of escape-avoidance responding.

Abstract

Examined whether pretreatment of mongrel dogs with noncontingent shocks is a necessary or merely sufficient condition to obtain interference with the subsequent acquisition of escape-avoidance responding in a shuttle box. 3 Ss pretreated with an immediate-escape procedure in a harness or only adaptation to a harness subsequently acquired escape-avoidance responding in a shuttle box. 3 Ss pretreated with an escape procedure that selectively reinforced long response latencies and interresponse times, on the other hand, failed to acquire escape-avoidance responding. Such interference, sometimes interpreted in terms of learned helplessness when preceded by a history of noncontingent shocks, need not be due to such a history. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)