Abstract
Lever biting was not supported in three rats for which this was the only response that could postpone shock. Four naive rats for which both lever biting and leverpressing could postpone shock consistently pressed the lever, as in conventional Sidman procedures where leverpressing is the only effective response. Two of the four rats bit the lever many times during some sessions, but this did not appear to be controlled by the avoidance contingencies. When only lever biting could postpone shock, the two rats’ lever biting increased, but not sufficiently to avoid as many shocks as they previously avoided by leverpressing. These results advise caution in assigning a major role to defense reactions, such as shock-induced attack, in the acquisition of avoidance.
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The research reported here was accomplished with support of PHS Research Grant MH-18432 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the senior author.
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Hineline, P.N., Harrison, J.F. Lever biting as an avoidance response. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 11, 223–226 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336814
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336814