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Lever attacking by rats during free-operant avoidance.

J J Pear, J E Moody, M A Persinger

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|November 1, 1972

Summary

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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.

Related Experiment Videos

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.