Abstract
Four groups of rats were trained to escape shock in a straight runway prior to institution of punishment conditions in an attempt to assess the effect of the presence of another S upon the persistance of self-punitive behavior. All rats first received the usual 35 shock escape training trials. Then, during extinction when no shock was present in the goalbox or startbox, Ss were put into one of four groups: punished, nonpunished, punished with a naive S, and punished with another punished S. Results showed that punishment produced self-punitive behavior and that the presence of another S decreased the number of trials a punished S would perform. The presence of a naive S had more effect than the presence of a trained S. The results are discussed in terms of generalization decrement, social interaction, and fear.
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Walker, J., Williams, S. & Martin, R.C. The effects of social interaction upon persistence of self-punitive behavior. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 4, 423–425 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336742
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336742