Systematic variation of electric shock, hunger, thirst and the approach-avoidance conflict which had previously been shown capable of producing gastric ulcers in rats indicated (a) conflict to be a significant variable, (b) hunger and shock to contribute significantly in interaction, (c) thirst to fail of significance, and (d) that though weight loss is significantly related to the hunger, thirst and shock variables, it was not directly related to ulcer formation.
40 male hooded rats were used in an investigation concerning the relation of social experience to ulcer formation in a long-term approach-avoidance conflict situation. The hypotheses were: "1. Animals placed in the conflict situation alone are less resistant to ulceration than animals tested with other animals present. 2. Animals reared in isolation are less resistant to ulceration than animals reared together. 3. Interaction effects between these 2 sets of conditions exist." The first hypothesis was confirmed at the .01 level; the second and third hypotheses were not confirmed, probably owing to the limitations in the sensitivity of the experimental procedures. 21 references.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.