Abstract
Human Ss were given avoidance training employing a blast of pressurized air directly behind the ear as the noxious stimulus, a button depression as the avoidance response, and a light as the warning signal. In this experiment, signal duration and trace interval were factorially manipulated in a manner that also permitted interstimulus interval comparisons. The most striking effect of these temporal variables was on avoidance latency, where longer latencies were associated with longer ISIs. Resistance to extinction appeared quite strong, and the suddenness of conditioning resembled all-or-none learning. The similarity of these results to previous findings and their significance were discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
BEECROFT, R. S. Emotional conditioning. Psychonomic Monograph Supplements, 1967, 2, 45–72.
BEHREND, E. R., & BITTERMAN, M. E. Avoidance conditioning in the goldfish: Exploratory studies of the CS-US interval. American Journal of Psychology, 1962, 75, 18–34.
BEHREND, E. R., & BITTERMAN, M. E. Avoidance conditioning in the fish: Further studies of the CS-US interval. American Journal of Psychology, 1964, 77, 15–28.
BLACK, A. H. The effect of CS-US interval on avoidance conditioning in the rat. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1963, 17, 174–182.
BOLLES, R. C. Theory of motivation. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
BOLLES, R. C., & GROSSEN, N. E. Effects of an informational stimulus on the acquisition of avoidance behavior in rats. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1969, 68, 90–99.
BRUSH, E. S. Traumatic avoidance learning: The effects of conditioned stimulus length in a free-responding situation. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1957, 50, 541–546.
KAMIN, L. J. Traumatic avoidance learning: The effects of CS-UCS interval with a trace conditioning procedure. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1954, 47, 65–72.
KIMBLE, G. A., MANN, L. I., & DUFORT, R. H. Classical and instrumental eyelid conditioning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1955, 49, 407–417.
MEYER, P. A. The role of an unavoidability procedure in eliminating avoidance behavior with humans. Journal of Experimental Psychology, in press.
MILLER, F. D., KALIN, R. S., ECKENROTH, W. N., & MEYER, P. A. Acquisition variables in human avoidance behavior. Psychonomic Science, 1970, 21, 233–35.
MOWRER, O. H. Learning theory and behavior. New York: Wiley, 1970.
PEARL, J., & EDWARDS, R. E. CS-US interval in the trace conditioning of an avoidance response. Psychological Reports. 1963, 13, 43–45.
PERLMUTER, L. C., FUNK, A. M., TAYLOR, G. A., & KIMBLE, G. A. Effect of interstimulus interval on conditioning of voluntary instructed responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1969, 79, 403–405.
PROKASY, W. F. Classical eyelid conditioning: Experimenter operations, task demands, and response shaping. In W. F. Prokasy (Ed.), Classical conditioning: A symposium. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1965. Pp. 208–225.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, F.D., Kalin, R.S. & Meyer, P.A. The effects of temporal variables on the acquisition of human avoidance behavior. Psychon Sci 21, 241–243 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332464
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332464