Conditioned stimulus determinants of conditioned response form in Pavlovian fear conditioning

J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1996 Jan;22(1):87-104. doi: 10.1037//0097-7403.22.1.87.

Abstract

Four experiments using barpress conditioned suppression in rats found that tone evoked more freezing (immobility) than did light. Still, tone and light appeared to have similar conditioned value as assessed by suppression in Experiments 1, 2, and 3, and by blocking, second-order conditioning, and overconditioning assays in Experiments 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Experiment 4 arranged for tone to evoke less suppression than light but more freezing. Results suggest that in fear conditioning, the nature of the conditioned stimulus affects the form of conditioned responding (strong vs. weak freezing). This conclusion extends one drawn by P. C. Holland (1977) on the basis of his work in appetitive conditioning.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Appetitive Behavior
  • Behavior, Animal
  • Conditioning, Classical*
  • Extinction, Psychological
  • Fear*
  • Female
  • Male
  • Rats
  • Reinforcement, Psychology