The extinction of fear as a function of distance versus dissimilarity from the original conflict situation.

Abstract

An earlier study (see 30: 4198) studied the behavior of rats running down alleys in which they had been shocked in comparison to alleys resembling, to various degrees, the original shock alley. Since the least similar alley was always furthest away from the original, alley similarity and distance were confounded. The present investigation was an attempt to correct this confounding. It was shown that the rat's capacity to overcome the inhibitory effects of shock experienced in one alley was related to distance from the original alley, not dissimilarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)