Abstract
Thirty colonies, each consisting of a female and two male adult albino rats, remained intact for an 8-week period. Naive conspecific intruders were then introduced into each colony for a 10-min test for 5 consecutive days. Videotapes of the tests were scored for aggressive and defensive behaviors. In every colony, aggression was greatest for a single alpha male. The alpha rats were randomly given one of three treatments: wheel-turn escape training, inescapable yoked shock, or restraint without shock. The alpha rats were then returned to their colonies and an intruder test was given 26 h later. Significant decreases in aggressive responses and increases in defensive behaviors occurred in the alpha yoked group but not in the other alpha groups. The nonalpha colony partners of the alpha yoked rats showed the opposite changes following the treatment. A final intruder test 72 h later revealed that the deficits in aggression of the alpha yoked group were still present but that the behaviors of most of the other groups were beginning to return to their respective pretreatment levels. These findings were discussed in terms of the concept of learned helplessness and alternative theoretical explanations.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, D. C., Crowell, C. R., Cunningham, C. L., &Lupo, J. V. Behavior during shock exposure as a determinant of subsequent interference with shuttle box escape-avoidance learning in the rat.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1979,5, 243–257.
Anderson, D. C., Crowell, C. R., Wikoff, M. B., &Lupo, J. V. Activity during prior shock determines subsequent shock-elicited fighting in the rat.Animal Learning & Behavior, 1980,8, 664–672.
Anisman, H., de Catanzaro, D., &Remington, G. Escape performance following exposure to inescapable shock: Deficits in motor response maintenance.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1978,4, 197–218.
Anisman, H., Irwin, J., &Sklar, L. S. Deficits of escape performance following catecholamine depletion: Implications for behavioral deficits induced by uncontrollable stress.Psychopharmacology, 1979,64, 163–170.
Anisman, H., Remington, G., &Sklar, L. S. Effects of inescapable shock on subsequent escape performance: Catecholaminergic and cholinergic mediation of response initiation and maintenance.Psychopharmacology, 1979,61, 107–124.
Anisman, H., &Sklar, L. S. Catecholamine depletion in mice upon reexposure to stress: Mediation of the escape deficits produced by inescapable shock.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1979,93, 610–635.
Anisman, H., Suissa, A., &Sklar, L. S. Escape deficits induced by uncontrollable stress: Antagonism by dopamine and norepinephrine agonists.Behavioral and Neural Biology, 1980,28, 34–47.
Barr, G. A., Gibbons, J. L., &Moyer, K. E. The relationship between mouse killing and intraspecific fighting in the albino rat.Behavioral Biology, 1975,14, 201–208.
Blanchard, D. C., Blanchard, R. J., Takahashi, L. K., &Takahashi, T. Septal lesions and aggressive behavior.Behavioral Biology, 1977,21, 157–161.
Blanchard, R. J., &Blanchard, D. C. Aggressive behavior in the rat.Behavioral Biology, 1977,21, 197–224.
Blanchard, R. J., Blanchard, D. C., &Takahashi, L. K. Pain and aggression in the rat.Behavioral Biology, 1978,23, 291–305.
Blanchard, R. J., Takahashi, L. K., &Blanchard, D. C. The development of intruder attack in colonies of laboratory rats.Animal Learning & Behavior, 1977,5, 365–369.
Bracewell, R. J., &Black, A. H. The effects of restraint and noncontingent preshock on subsequent escape learning in the rat.Learning and Motivation, 1974,5, 53–69.
Costanzo, D. J., Enloe, L. J., &Hothersall, D. Effects of septal lesions on social dominance in rats.Behavioral Biology, 1977,20, 454–462.
Glazer, H. I., &Weiss, J. M. Long-term and transitory interference effects.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1976,2, 191–201. (a)
Glazer, H. I., &Weiss, J. M. Long-term interference effect: An alternative to “learned helplessness.”Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1976,2, 202–213.(b)
Grossman, S. P. Aggression, avoidance, and reaction to novel environments in female rats with ventromedial hypothalamic lesions.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1972,78, 274–283.
Jackson, R. L., Maier, S. F., &Coon, D. J. Long-term analgesic effects of inescapable shock and learned helplessness.Science, 1979,206, 91–93.
MacLennan, J. A., Jackson, R. L., &Maier, S. F. Conditioned analgesia in the rat.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 1980,15, 387–390.
Maier, S. F., Albin, R. W., &Testa, T. J. Failure to learn to escape in rats previously exposed to inescapable shock depends on nature of escape response.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1973,85, 581–592.
Maier, S. F., Anderson, C., &Lieberman, D. A. Influences of control of shock on subsequent shock-elicited aggression.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1972,81, 94–100.
Maier, S. F., Coon, D. J., McDaniel, M. A., Jackson, R. L., &Grau, J. The time course of learned helplessness, inactivity, and nociceptive deficits in rats.Learning and Motivation, 1979,10, 467–487.
Maier, S. F., &Jackson, R. L. The nature of the initial coping response and the learned helplessness effect.Animal Learning & Behavior, 1977,5, 407–414.
Maier, S. F., &Seligman, M. E. P. Learned helplessness: Theory and evidence.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1976,105, 3–46.
Miczek, K. A., &Barry, H., III. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and aggressive behavior in rats.Behavioral Biology, 1974,11, 261–267.
Overmier, J. B., &Seligman, M. E. P. Effects of inescapable shock on subsequent escape and avoidance learning.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1967,63, 28–33.
Payne, R., Anderson, D. C., &Murcurio, J. Preshock-produced alternations in pain-elicited aggression.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1970,71, 258–266.
Powell, D. A., &Creer, T. L. Interaction of developmental and environmental variables in shock-elicited aggression.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1969,69, 219–225.
Rapaport, P. M., &Maier, S. F. Inescapable shock and food-competition dominance in rats.Animal Learning & Behavior, 1978,6, 160–165.
Rosellini, R. A. Inescapable shock interferes with the acquisition of an appetitive operant.Animal Learning A. Behavior, 1978,6, 155–159.
Sklar, L. S., &Anisman, H. Stress and cancer.Psychological Bulletin, 1981,89, 369–406.
Takahashi, L. K., &Blanchard, R. J. Shock and defensive fighting in the rat.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 1978,12, 211–213.
Weiss, J. M., Glazer, H. I., &Pohorecky, L. A. Coping behavior and neurochemical changes: An alternative explanation for the original “learned helplessness” experiments. In G. Serban & A. Kling (Eds.),Animal models in human psychobiology. New York: Plenum Press, 1976.
Williams, J. L., &Maier, S. F. Transituational immunization and therapy of learned helplessness in the rat.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1977,3, 240–253.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was partially supported by a faculty development grant to Kenyon College from the Mellon Foundation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Williams, J.L. Influence of shock controllability by dominant rats on subsequent attack and defensive behaviors toward colony intruders. Animal Learning & Behavior 10, 305–313 (1982). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213715
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213715