Date of Award

4-1979

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Frederick P. Gault

Second Advisor

Dr. R.W. Malott

Third Advisor

Dr. David Lyon

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Four complex unlearned behaviors (locomotion, grooming, sensory scanning and pausing) induced by electric shock presented every 210" were studied in the presence and absence of an opportunity to attack an aggression target. Three male Wistar rats, approx. 12 mo. old, were observed for 84 hours of the shock presentation schedule. An observer used a modified IMSAI 8048 control computer to record the frequency and duration of locomotion, sensory scanning, grooming and pausing; the computer also controlled shock delivery. The validity of response definitions were asessed by the correlation between the simultaneous observations of the behaviors. Interobserver correlations for all behaviors were significantly different from zero at p<.0005; none were significantly different from +1, which suggested the observations were acceptably reliable and the categories were valid. When preshock and postshock intervals were compared, shock was not found to be casually related to sensory scanning, pausing and grooming; thus, these data are not presented. Shock was found to be casually related to locomotion and these data are presented. In the presence of an opportunity to aggress locomotion and pausing habituated while sensory scanning positively accelerated. Grooming slowly increased and then decreased over sessions.

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