SOURCES OF REINFORCEMENT IN ESTABLISHMENT OF SELF-PUNITIVE BEHAVIOR

33 naive female hooded rats trained to escape shock by traversing a start box and 4-ft runway were punished by equivalent fixed-distance or fixed-duration shocks during extinction. The 2 types of punishment did not significantly differ in their effects; both facilitated performance relative to a nonpunished control condition. Exp. II with 20 naive male rats showed the basic self-punitive effect with avoidance-trained Ss on a 50% (fixed-duration) punishment schedule. Speed increased progressively over trials; this increase in speed occurred in the punishment section of the alley and appeared on nonpunished as well as punished trials. These results relegate the reduction of punishment duration to a minor explanatory role and are supportive of a modified conditioned fear interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.