Correlation of Two Measures of the Strength of An Approach-Avoidance Conflict
The number of trials ( T ) required for recovery of the approach component of a previously acquired approach-avoidance conflicr, and the mean distance (MD) Ss travel down a runway on successive trials during the recovery series are generally considered as indices of the relative strength of an approachavoidance conflict. If, as Miller's (1959) model provides, the distance a rat travels down a given runway is determined by the point a t which two gradients representing the strength of opposing response tendencies intersect, and if the point of intersection is determined by the relative strength of the opposing tendencies, then it follows that Ss running farthest down the alley during a post-conflict series should require fewer trials to reach the recovery criterion. Thus, it was predicted MD and T should correlate negatively. Method.-The apparatus was a wooden alley 4 ft. long, 5 in. wide, and G in. deep. A metal cup was attached to one end and the floor was covered with %-in. hardware cloth. Ss were 38 naive, male albino rats 9 0 to 95 days old. They were habituated to a 23%-hr. food deprivation schedule for 7 days prior to training. All Ss were given 10 successively reinforced approach trials for three consecutive days. On the fourth day each S received one shock trial followed by consecutive recovery trials to a criterion of cwo successive goal responses. A goal response occurred whenever S rraversed the entire length of the runway, thrust its head into the food cup and obtained a pellet. Results.-A mean of 6.81 trials with a range of 2 to 45 was required for recovery of the original approach response. The obtained product-moment T = .50 was significant a t .O1 and supports the initial prediction.