A Discrimination Based on Punishment

Abstract

Twelve white rats learned to press a bar or lever when this act was intermittently followed by pellets of food. Once a stable rate of pressing had been established, the animals were subjected to electric shock as a punishment for each response during alternate five minute periods within the experimental session. A difference in rates during the safe and punished phases was manifested both by the experimental group (8 rats), who were provided with a light as a signal when it was safe to respond, and also, contrary to expectation, by the control group (4 rats), who continued in darkness throughout the session. The differential responding by the control group was greatly reduced, however, when the duration of each phase was reduced from five minutes to one. The investigation was then continued to determine the role of some of the other factors in the situation. Increasing the severity of the shock increased the difference between the light and the dark rates. Withholding the pellets of food reduced the overall rates but did not affect the light-dark discrimination. Withholding the shock, on the other hand, permitted an increase in rate and caused the animals to lose their discrimination; when food had previously been withheld, however, so that the rate of response was relatively low, this deterioration in the discrimination was not as rapid as before. Restoration of the discrimination training under a lower hunger drive confirmed the finding that the formation of the discrimination was quite rapid and showed that the level of drive did not affect the proportionality between the rates in the light and in the darkness. These findings were interpreted by comparing the current procedure with those previously used in studies of avoidance reactions and conflict.