Nature of positive and negative incentive-motivational effects on general activity.

Abstract

Reinforcement-linked or incentive-motivational changes in general activity were studied by classically conditioning thirsty rats with CS+ (US: water) and CS -(US: electric shock), and, in another situation, measuring their activity in the presence and absence of CSs. In Experiment 1, rats were conditioned while held inactive in restrainers; in Experiment 2, the incidence of perambulation, grooming, and sitting was measured; in Experiment 3, drive level was varied. As compared to control conditions, CS+ increased exploratory perambulation and CS-increased motionless sitting. Reduction in drive -decreased perambulation and increased grooming. Incentive-motivational stimuli may induce positive and negative central states which, together with situational cues, determine the form of activity.

The effects of shock intensity and intertrial interval duration on the operant level of a shuttle-avoidance response

“…The number of crossings during the CS period was greater than the pre-CS period for the 35-sec ITI (t = 3.04, df= 15, p< .01) and for the 5-min ITI (t = 5.93, df = 15, P < .001). The facilitative effects of CS introduction are clearly inconsistent with views of the CS as an elicitor of freezing responses in either a fear-conditioning (Bindra & Palfai, 1967) or an avoidance-learning situation (Weiss, Krieckhaus, & Conte, 1968), but suggest conversely that the CS introduction reduces freezing responses, possibly in the manner suggested by Blanchard & Blanchard (1969), increasing initial response rate and thus increasing the prob ability of adaptive responding.…”

Predatory overtones of open-field testing in chickens

“…Pretest shock, which can be thought of as analogous to having been bitten, not only increases tonic immobility duration in many species (Edson & Gallup, 1972;Gallup, Creekmore, & Hill, 1970;Gallup, Nash, Potter, & Donegan, 1970), but also profoundly suppresses movement in both rodents and avians and vocalization in birds (Anderson, Crowell, Koehn, & Lupo, 1976; Baron, 1964;Blanchard & Blanchard, 1969;Gallup & Suarez, 1980; Levine, Madden, Conner, Moskal, & Anderson, 1973;Montevecchi et al, 1973;Pinel, Corcoran, & Malsbury, 1971). Similarly, a cue previously paired with shock, or which, by analogy, signals an impending predatory encounter, both prolongs tonic immobility (Gallup, Rosen, & Brown, 1972) and inhibits activity and vocalization in an open field (Bindra & Palfai, 1967;Gallup & Suarez, 1980;Mikulka, Kendall, Constantine, & Porterfield, 1972;Murai, 1968).…”

Relationship of grooming and rearing to reinforcing stimulation of lateral hypothalamus in rats

“…In this way, Bindra and Palfai (1967) showed that rats displayed more locomotion and less grooming in response to a conditioned stimulus that predicted the presence of water. Of relevance to the present experiment is the demonstration that rats would sniff at a stimulus that predicted brain stimulation in the lateral hypothalamus (Peterson, 1975).…”