Effectiveness of “neutral,” habituated, shock-related, and food-related stimuli as CSs for avoidance learning in goldfish

Abstract

Four groups of 11 goldfish were given different kinds of experiences with a light stimulus later to be used as a CS for two-way, active avoidance conditioning. For one group, the light was repeatedly paired with food; for another, the light was paired with inescapable shock; a third group received light-only presentations (habituation); a control group never experienced the light before testing. In avoidance conditioning testing, the shock-related and food-related groups performed significantly better than the control group, which in turn outperformed the habituated group. It is concluded that the acquisition of an orienting reaction to a CS outweighs the positive-vs-negative source of that OR.