Effects of shock intensity and food deprivation on one-trial discriminated avoidance.

Abstract

A single shock followed foot pellet retrieval following die trans-illumination of one wall of a conditioning chamber. Avoidance of die illuminated wall (discrimination) was an increasing function of shock intensity, with asymptotic performance at 1 ma. Measures presumed to reflect primarily a generalized emotional response conditioned to apparatus cues; however, were linearly increasing functions of shock intensity up to 4 ma. In Experiment n, discrimination was a function of both shock intensity and level of food deprivation, with discrimination best under high shock intensity and low deprivation and poorest under low intensity and high deprivation.