An experiment is described in which 32 rats were tested to determine if an escape box which had been previously associated with shock reduction had secondary reinforcement value. Subjects were tested in both a fear and a neutral situation. Significant secondary reinforcement effects were found in both situations. However, contary to expectations, greater secondary reinforcement effects were obtained in the neutral than in the fear situation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GoodsonF.BrownsteinA. (1955). Secondary reinforcing and motivating properties of stimuli contiguous with shock onset and termination. J. comp. Physiol. Psychol.48, 381–6.
2.
LittmanR.WadeE. A. (1955). A negative test of drive-reduction hypothesis. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.7, 56–66.
3.
MillerN. E. (1951). Learnable drives and rewards. Handbook of Experimental PsychologyStevensS. S.New York.
4.
MowrerO. H. (1960). Learning Theory and Behavior.New York.
5.
SmithN. P.BuchananG. (1954). Acquisition of secondary reward by cues associated with shock reduction. J. exp. Psychol.48, 123–6.