Abstract
The present experiment studied the approach-withdrawal behavior of rats relative to conditioned stimuli (CS) that were paired with shock (paired), paired with absence of shock (unpaired), or that bore no temporal relation with shock (random). In the paired condition, the rats equally divided their time between the side of a tilt cage on which the CS was presented and the other side. In the random condition, the rats displayed a preference for the CS side. In the unpaired condition, the rats displayed a larger preference for the CS side. The range of preferences observed was small compared with that typically observed in appetitive sign-tracking. These results are consistent with a small aversive sign-tracking effect coupled with an unconditioned preference for the CS.
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Masterson, F. W. Unpublished data, 1963.
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William Bartter is now at Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio 45750. These experiments were reported at the 1977 convention of the Eastern Psychological Association in Boston.
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Bartter, W.D., Masterson, F.A. Is there sign-tracking in aversive conditioning?. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 15, 87–89 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334473
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334473