Neutralization of an aversive light stimulus as a function of number of paired presentations with food.
- 1 January 1964
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology
- Vol. 58 (3) , 350-353
- https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048147
Abstract
Albino rats were given 5, 2-g pellets of moist food per day for 16 days. For 3 experimental groups (N = 8) an aversively bright overhead light was turned on during the 5 sec. before food delivery for 20, 40, or 80 light-food pairings. A 4th (control) group of 8 Ss received 80 pellets with 80 presentations of light following food by several minutes. The aversiveness of light was then appraised by recording light-escape latencies over 64 trials. Light-food pairings diminished the light''s aversiveness, the effect increasing with frequency of pairings. Loss of aversiveness was attributed, in part, to the light''s having acquired tendencies to evoke food-seeking responses incompatible with escape reactions.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
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