A technique for the assessment of the effects of electrical aversion on human operant behavior: An exploratory study

Abstract

A series of single-subject experiments were performed to evaluate the utility of a new technique for assessing the differential effects of electrical aversion on human operant behavior. The subjects were eight college males classified as either high (N=3) or low (N=5) in “fear” of physical pain according to their T-scores on Factor 5 (Tasto, Hickson, & Rubin, 1971) of the Fear Survey Schedule (Wolpe & Lang, 1969). Each subject was instructed to press a response key on a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rates (DRL) schedule, while during certain periods electric shock was introduced conjointly on a modified free operant avoidance schedule. The results indicated that whereas 100% of the “high fear” subjects emitted a considerable number of response “bursts” during at least some of the electrical aversion periods, only 20% of the “low fear” subjects showed the effect at the highest shock level (4.5 mA). For those subjects who demonstrated the effect, a positive relationship between shock intensity and frequency of “bursts” was established by means of systematic replications with different levels of shock. The findings suggest that the rate of response “bursts” under the present schedule might serve as an index of the relative aversiveness of electric shock during aversion therapy.