Frustration, training, and task complexity in rats

A double alley followed by a linear maze was used to determine whether frustration, elicited by reward quality reduction, would impair maze performance (complex task) when response strength was weak and would facilitate performance when response strength was high. For this purpose one group of rats (n = 11) was given maze training with only the correct door unlocked at each choice point (those used under frustration conditions), whereas, the second group (n = 11) was trained with all doors at each choice point unlocked. On subsequent test trials, frustration enhanced run speeds in the double alley but had no significant effect on maze errors irrespective of level of training. The results were discussed within Spence's motivation-performance hypothesis and Amsel's frustration theory.