Choice of Higher Density Signalled Shock over Lower Density Unsignalled Shock

Unsignalled, inescapable shocks were presented to four albino rats in Experiment 1. By pressing a lever subjects could change the condition to signalled shock for 3-min periods after which unsignalled shock was automatically reinstated. All subjects changed from unsignalled to signalled shock when shock density was the same or when the density of signalled shock was two times greater than unsignalled shock. When the density of signalled shock was four times that of unsignalled shock, three subjects changed to the higher density schedule. One subject changed to a density of signalled shock eight times that of unsignalled shock. The second study showed that the two shock schedules most similar in Experiment 1 were discriminably different because subjects chose lower over higher shock densities when both densities were unsignalled. An analysis stressing safe (signal absent) and unsafe (signal present) periods was discussed.