Response frequency and response duration were manipulated in opposite directions through appropriate arrangement of punishment and escape contingencies. The experiment demonstrated that the frequency of a non-reinforced operant response could be more effectively suppressed by punishment in one group of rats than in another, even though the former group continued to take a longer time to terminate the response once it had been made. Bright light was the aversive stimulus, depression of a large platform was the response punished, and release of the platform was the escape response.
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