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The 9 highest (HH) and 9 lowest (LH) scorers on the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory out of a sample of 115 males were placed into an identical situation in which they received mild shocks on 6 of 60 trials. All Ss were angered by this procedure according to their scores on a self-report mood inventory. The HH and LH Ss significantly differed from each other on measures of number and intensity of shocks used and in terms of the first trial on which they retaliated. No apparent evidence was found for the notion that number and intensity of shocks measure different processes of interpersonal aggression.

A tone and a brain shock were paired intermittently for 1 group and continuously for another. A control group received the tone only. After the pairings both the partial and continuous reinforcement groups exhibited a preference for a lever which produced the tone over a lever which did not. However, intermittent pairings produced a significantly stronger secondary reinforcing effect than continuous pairings. The results support the assertions that brain stimulation can serve as a primary reinforcer in secondary reinforcement training, and that partial reinforcement can produce a more durable secondary reinforcer than continuous reinforcement.

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