Self-punitive behavior in the rat: A free-operant demonstration

Abstract

In an attempt to generalize alleyway findings to another stimulus situation, this experiment was designed to produce self-punitive behavior in an operant conditioning chamber using procedures which were, as nearly as possible, analogous to the alleyway problem. Rats were trained to press a lever on a fixed ratio (FR) schedule to terminate foot shock. After the pressing response had been conditioned to FR 12, Ss were randomly divided into experimental and control groups and an extinction test was given. Control Ss received no shock during extinction trials; experimental Ss received no shock unless they pressed the bar four times, at which time shock came on and continued until S pressed eight more times. Two measures, total number of responses during extinction, and total latencies for the first four responses, reflected the facilitative effect of punishment on responding. It was concluded that self-punitive behavior can be produced in the rat using a lever-pressing procedure. © 1969, Psychonomic Journals, Inc.. All rights reserved.