Continuity of Shock and Level of Aversiveness in Shuttlebox-Avoidance Behavior

Abstract

4 groups of 16 rats each were given standard shuttlebox-avoidance training. 2 groups were trained with a continuous shock which, depending on the scrambling arrangement, could be characterized as relatively more or less aversive, respectively. 2 groups were trained with a discontinuous shock which, depending on duration and frequency, could be characterized as relatively more or less aversive. Superior performance was obtained with the less aversive discontinuous shock compared with a more aversive discontinuous shock, and a continuous aversive shock led to better performance than a continuous less aversive shock. The results partially support Dieter's (1976) continuity of shock explanation.