Aspects of reinforcement through UCS offset in classical aversive conditioning

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Abstract
GSR conditioning with a UCS‐CS interval of 700 msec. and a CS‐UCS interval of 3300 msec. respectively in two experiments was compared for two groups of 20 Ss trained with a long (2300 msec.) and a short (200 msec.) shock as UCS. The aim was to clarify in part the roles of delay, direction, and amount, aspects of offset reinforcement which had been completely confounded in a previous study. Comparisons with control groups run at 5000‐msec. and 10000‐msec. UCS‐CS intervals respectively in Experiments I and II indicated conditioning with both the 700‐msec. UCS‐CS and the 3300‐msec. CS‐UCS intervals. The lack of significant differences between the short‐ and long‐UCS conditions in both experiments was taken to indicate that: (a) direction was important and possibly crucial; (b) delay and amount were equally important under forward direction; (c) delay and amount probably interacted with direction, the first two aspects being important only when the third was forward.

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