Bar press and bar release as avoidance responses.

The team worked with lab rats on a free-operant avoidance box.

Each rat could press or release a bar to stop a shock.

They changed two timers: how long the rat had to keep the bar pressed, and how long it had to stay released.

Longer press timers made rats hold the bar down more and press less often.

Longer release timers cut both holding time and total presses.

You can dial the schedule to get steady holding or quick tapping.

Bloomfield (1967) first showed that lever-hold time tracks the single response-shock interval.

Reberg et al. (1979) split that interval into press and release parts, giving finer control.

Catania et al. (1966) used equal press and release times; the new study shows unequal times shape different topographies.

Staats et al. (2000) later added sleep loss and saw faster tapping; pairing their finding with the 1979 split-interval trick could reveal when fatigue shifts holding to cycling.

If you run avoidance or escape tasks with clients, think about response form, not just rate.

Split the contingencies: require longer holds for calm sitting, shorter holds for quick hand raises.

Test one interval at a time; the 1979 data give you a map for shaping steady vs rapid responses.