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Some relations between classically conditioned aggression and conditioned suppression in squirrel monkeys
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|September 1, 1980
Summary
Squirrel monkeys showed conditioned suppression and aggression when stimuli were paired with shock. Findings suggest bar pressing can be controlled by food and conditioned stimuli, complicating simple competing response interpretations.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Conditioned suppression procedures are used to study learning and behavior.
- Aggression can be a conditioned response to aversive stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay between conditioned suppression, conditioned aggression, and competing responses in squirrel monkeys.
- To explore the dual control of behavior by reinforcement and conditioned stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Squirrel monkeys underwent three experiments involving stimulus-shock pairings in the presence of a bite tube.
- Experiments utilized a conditioned-suppression procedure with food-reinforced bar pressing.
- Behavioral responses, including bar pressing and tube biting, were recorded under varying conditions.
Main Results:
- Stimulus-shock pairings decreased bar pressing (conditioned suppression) and increased tube biting (conditioned aggression).
- The presence of a bite tube intensified suppression, suggesting competition with bar pressing.
- Naive monkeys exhibited stimulus-induced bar pressing, even without food reinforcement, which was higher when the bite tube was absent.
Conclusions:
- Bar pressing in conditioned suppression may be maintained by both food reinforcement and conditioned stimulus control.
- A simple competing response model is insufficient to explain conditioned suppression.
- Shock-induced responses can both contribute to and compete with ongoing behavior, with outcomes dependent on situational factors.
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