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Lever attacking by rats during free-operant avoidance
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|November 1, 1972
Summary
Shock-elicited biting may explain some rat lever pressing in avoidance behavior studies. This behavior, not operant, could account for persistent responses during extinction, challenging traditional interpretations.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Free-operant avoidance schedules are commonly studied using lever-pressing rats.
- The role of shock-elicited behaviors in maintaining avoidance responding is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether shock-elicited lever biting contributes to lever pressing in rats under free-operant avoidance schedules.
- To determine if this biting behavior explains post-shock response bursts and persistent responding during extinction.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained on a free-operant avoidance schedule with a specially designed lever measuring presses and bites.
- Subjects experienced different phases, including extinction where the response-shock contingency was removed.
- Shocks were delivered to observe elicited behaviors.
Main Results:
- Shocks frequently elicited lever biting and post-shock responding.
- Forceful shock-elicited attacks on the lever were observed.
- These attacks appeared to account for some lever pressing, particularly post-shock bursts and persistent responding during extinction.
Conclusions:
- Shock-elicited lever biting can mimic operant responding in avoidance experiments.
- This behavior may be a significant factor in post-shock response bursting and extinction persistence.
- Findings suggest re-evaluating the classification of these behaviors as operant in free-operant avoidance paradigms.
