Cues that signal the possibility of receiving an electric shock reliably induce defensive activation. To determine whether cues can also easily reverse defensive reactions, a threat reversal paradigm was developed in which a cue signaling threat of shock reversed its meaning across the course of the study. This allowed us to contrast defensive reactions to threat cues that became safe cues, wit...

BACKGROUND Pain induced by electrical stimuli has been found in previous research to be reduced by brief, weak electrical pulses, termed prepulses, presented 40 to 60ms prior to the painful electrical stimulus. METHODS The present experiment investigated the generality of this effect by presenting weak acoustic stimuli simultaneously with, or 80 or 1000ms prior to, painful electric shocks. In...

In a recent, discussion of approach-avoidance conflict theory, Miller (1959) assumed that the strength or excitatory potential of the approach response should vary with factors which have been found to affect performance in nonconflict situations, namely: (1) the number of reinforced trials, (2) the strength of drive motivating the approach response, (3) the delay of reward, and (4) the amount ...

Each of eight rats was located in the experimental chamber mounted with two levers. Lever-pressing to either of the two was maintained by a schedule of food. After that, a punishment schedule of electric shocks was added. Neither the reinforcement nor the punishment schedule was programmed on the other lever, i.e. the non-reinforced alternative. The effect of reinforcement, and the joint effect...

Normal Drosophilia learn to avoid an odorant associated with electric shock. An X-linked mutant, dunce, has been isolated that fails to display this learning in spite of being able to sense the odorant and electric shock and showing essentially normal behavior in other respects.

Do people sometimes seek to atone for their transgressions by harming themselves physically? The current results suggest that they do. People who wrote about a past guilt-inducing event inflicted more intense electric shocks on themselves than did those who wrote about feeling sad or about a neutral event. Moreover, the stronger the shocks that guilty participants administered to themselves, th...

Carter, A. O., and Morley R. (1969). Brit. J. industr. Med., 26, 217-223. Electric current flow through human skin at power frequency voltages. Alternating power voltages were applied to small pieces of living skin. Current and voltage were recorded continuously using voltages from 25 V to 250 V. At the lower voltages the skin appeared unaffected, but rapid destruction occurred at the higher vo...