Conditioned suppression of an avoidance response

doi:10.1901/jeab.1971.16-275

J Exp Anal Behav. 1971 September; 16(2): 275–281.

doi: 10.1901/jeab.1971.16-275.

PMCID: PMC1333879

Conditioned suppression of an avoidance response¹

H. M. B. Hurwitz and A. E. Roberts

¹Supported by NSF Grant #GB-8505 to Dr. Harry M. B. Hurwitz. Reprints may be obtained from Dr. H. M. B. Hurwitz, Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Abstract

A signal followed by shock was presented at irregular intervals during a free-operant avoidance schedule. The effects of this procedure were studied in terms of the rate of unavoided shock in the presence and absence of the signal and the rate of response before and during the signal. Three shock intensities were employed. Response enhancement as well as response suppression were observed; irrespective of changes in responding, shock rates substantially increased during signalled periods compared to non-signalled periods. Shock rates in non-signalled periods were generally higher than during training.

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Selected References

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