Is the Effect of Preshock Treatment on Shock-Elicited Aggression Independent of Situational Stimuli?

Tondat, Lynn Marie

doi:10.1007/bf03394260

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We should like to know, for instance, what aspects of the experience of uncontrollability affect the extent to which it disrupts future learning and motivation. Considerable evidence indicates that the effects are quite pervasive (see Generality, above; also, Tondat, 1973). On the other hand, Dweck and Reppucci (1973) have evidence that the interference effect may be under rather precise stimulus control.…”

Section: Motivational Deficitmentioning

confidence: 94%

Environmental Contingencies as Sources of Stress in Animals

1980

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Section: Motivational Deficitmentioning

confidence: 94%

Environmental Contingencies as Sources of Stress in Animals

1980

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“…When one member of the pair receives partial reinforcement for escaping from the chamber, aggressive behavior is abolished (Sbordone, Note 2). Exposing individual rats to inescapable shock that elicits running and jumping behavior abolished aggressive behavior when the rats were later paired and given footshock (Powell & Creer, 1969;Tondat, 1974). Fighting is rarely, if ever, observed during the intershock interval and rarely exceeds shock termination (Sbordone & Carder, 1974;Ulrich, 1966;Ulrich & Azrin, 1962).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the generalizability of shock-elicited aggressive behavior in rats

Sbordone

García

1978

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

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The aggressive behavior of rats was observed both in a colony situation and in a shockelicited aggression situation. Several aggressive behaviors seen in the colony were not observed during foots hock. Shoving and upright boxing were observed in both situations, although several components of these behaviors were missing during footshock. These data suggest that behavior elicited by footshock may be "displacement" activity rather than aggressive or defensive behavior.The shock-elicited aggression or reflexive fighting model has become the most frequently used paradigm for investigating aggressive behavior in animals . This paradigm consists of delivering brief electric footshock to a pair of rats (Urich & Azrin, 1962). When presented with this stimulus, both rats will usually assume an upright posture that consists of standing on their hind feet and facing each other with their heads tilted upward and their mouths slightly open. In this posture, they frequently strike each other with their forepaws (Miczek, 1974). While the behavior of rats in this situation has been precisely quantified and easily replicated (Powell, Frances, Braman, & Schneiderman, 1969;Ulrich, 1966), it is not clear to what degree the aggressive behavior produced by electric shock is similar to naturally occurring aggressive behavior. Some investigators Blanchard, Blanchard, & Takahashi, 1977;Moyer, 1976; Powell, Note 1) have argued that the behavioral responses elicited by footshock are primarily "defensive" and "submissive" reactions, in that they resemble the behavior of a strange rat placed into an established rat colony. Since the vast differences in housing and social history between intruder and dominant colony rats were not controlled in these studies, there are problems with this interpretation. In addition, colonies usually contain rats of both sexes. Since females are never present when two males are tested with footshock, it is not known to what degree the presence of females 372 affects the behavior of the dominant animal in the colony. The present study compares the aggressive behavior of rats in an all-male colony with the behavior elicited by footshock. METHOD SubjectsThirty-two experimentally naive male Sprague-Dawley rats, between 90 and 100 days old at the start of the experiment, were obtained from the Simonsen Breeding Laboratory, Gilroy, California, and served as the subjects for this experiment. Regardless of the type of housing, food and water were available a t all times. ApparatusThe rat colony consisted of a galvanized steel mesh chamber (l m in width by 2.0 m in length by 1.5 m in height) that was divided into two tiers of equal size to form upper and lower compartments. An inclined ramp connected the compartments and permitted the animals to move from one compartment to another.The experimental chamber used to test the animals with shock consisted of a cylinder with inside dimensions of 30 cm in diameter by 30 em in height. The entire chamber was constructed of clear Plexiglas, which allowed an unobstructed view o...

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“…Furthermore, the observations of behavior during shock treatment itself tentatively suggest that the marked reduction in fighting produced by this variable may be due, in part, to a behavioral change accompanying exposure to inescapable shock. Schneiderman, 1972;Tondat, 1974). For the most part, investigators have ignored questions regarding the extent to which this finding generalizes to female rat subjects.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of sex and exposure to inescapable shock on shock-elicited fighting in albino rats

et al. 1977

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A 2 by 2 factorial design was employed to investigate the effects of exposure to inescapable shock vs. no shock on the subsequent shock-elicited fighting behavior of male and female rats. Results indicated that males fought reliably more than females in response to brief test shocks. Also, prior exposure to inescapable shock was observed to reduce markedly the degree of shockelicited fighting for both male and female rats during initial test sessions. In addition, measurements of responsivity to shock were observed to decrease for shock-treated subjects as a function of continued exposure to inescapable shock during the shock-treatment phase. Taken together, these findings indicate that although sex can be a powerful determinant of degree of shock-elicited fighting in albino rats, the debilitating effect of exposures to inescapable shock does not depend upon this factor. Furthermore, the observations of behavior during shock treatment itself tentatively suggest that the marked reduction in fighting produced by this variable may be due, in part, to a behavioral change accompanying exposure to inescapable shock. Schneiderman, 1972;Tondat, 1974). For the most part, investigators have ignored questions regarding the extent to which this finding generalizes to female rat subjects. One notable exception is the study by Powell et ai. (1972) in which a fightinginterference effect following exposure to inescapable shock was reported for a combined population of male and female rats. Unfortunately, however, this study was not designed to permit separate comparisons of the effect of shock treatments on each sex involved. This oversight followed from the authors' assumption that gender was not an important variable in determining degree of shock-elicited fighting in albino rats, a contention that was based upon the results of several prior studies showing little, if any, sex effect on degree of shock-elicited fighting in this strain

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Is the Effect of Preshock Treatment on Shock-Elicited Aggression Independent of Situational Stimuli?

Cited by 5 publications

References 8 publications

Environmental Contingencies as Sources of Stress in Animals

Environmental Contingencies as Sources of Stress in Animals

On the generalizability of shock-elicited aggressive behavior in rats

The effects of sex and exposure to inescapable shock on shock-elicited fighting in albino rats

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