Abstract
Recent investigations have found a multiphasic retention function associated with avoidance training (e.g., Holloway & Wansley, 1973a, b). The present experiment was done to determine if a similar retention function also describes appetitively motivated behavior. Rats were allowed access to preferred solution in the shock compartment of a passive avoidance apparatus. Then either .25 h after the appetitive preexposure or at successive 3-h intervals up to 24 h, the rats were administered one-trial passive avoidance training consisting of a strong shock presented in the shock compartment. The retention of the appetitive preexposure was determined by its effect on performance of the passive avoidance task as measured 24 h after the shock trial. The results demonstrated that the retention function associated with the appetitive preexposure was phasic with an alternation between high and low retention every 12 h. Specifically, retention was higher after the .25-, 9-, 12-, and 24-h intervals than after 3-, 6-, 15-, and 18-h intervals. These results are consistent with prior research on the retention of avoidance training.
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Based on a Master’s thesis prepared by the first author under the direction of the second author which was submitted to the Psychology Department, University of Oklahoma, 1973.
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Hunsicker, J.P., Mellgren, R.L. Multiple deficits in the retention of an appetitively motivated behavior across a 24-h period in rats. Animal Learning & Behavior 5, 14–16 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209124
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209124