The role of escape-motivated behavior in aversive conditioning in rats and gerbils

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate whether rat-gerbil differences in performance in aversive conditioning tasks are due primarily to species differences in exploratory tendencies or whether such performance differences might be attributable to species-specific escape tendencies. In Experiment 1 both species were given the opportunity to leave an area previously learned to be “safe” (platform in a step-down passive avoidance situation), and in Experiment 2 they had the opportunity to leave an area associated with aversive stimulation but lacking a safe region. In both of these situations, while gerbils left faster than rats, the performance of shocked gerbils relative to unshocked controls indicated that their exit behavior was not primarily escape-motivated, as appeared to be the case with rats. The results were interpreted as supporting the view that speciesdifferences in behavior in aversive conditioning tasks are attributable to a stronger exploratory tendency in gerbils as compared to rats.