Abstract
Following training on a variable-interval food-reinforcement schedule, rats were exposed to three unsignaled shocks during each 30-min session. Although leverpressing was initially suppressed, responding was significantly accelerated following offset of the third shock, regardless of when in the session it occurred. Control sessions in which only two shocks were programmed, one early and one late, did not yield baseline acceleration. Evidence of “counting to three” was less obvious in subjects simultaneously exposed to a temporal autocontingency, that is, for which each shock also predicted a minimum 3-min safety period. The addition of a signal prior to each shock eliminated evidence of counting behavior altogether. We conclude that rats may be taught to count, but such behavior is highly unnatural and may be blocked or overshadowed by more salient sources of information.
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Imada, H. Personal communication, April 11, 1981.
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The preparation of this paper was supported in part by Grant A06973 from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada to Hank Davis, and by an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship award to John Memmott.
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Davis, H., Memmott, J. Autocontingencies: Rats count to three to predict safety from shock. Animal Learning & Behavior 11, 95–100 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212314
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212314