ESCAPE BEHAVIOR UNDER DIFFERENT FIXED RATIOS AND SHOCK INTENSITIES.
Fixed-ratio size and shock intensity trade off to control escape speed and rate, just like positive reinforcement schedules.
01Research in Context
What this study did
WINOGRAD (1965) worked with rats in a small chamber. A lever sat on one wall. Electric shock pulsed through the floor.
Pressing the lever stopped the shock for a short time. The team changed two things: how many presses were needed (the fixed-ratio size) and how strong the shock felt. They timed how fast the rats first hit the lever.
What they found
Longer fixed-ratio schedules slowed the first escape press. Stronger shocks sped it up.
Response rate flipped: bigger ratios meant fewer total presses, while stronger shocks meant more. The same schedule laws that shape food rewards also shape escape from pain.
How this fits with other research
DINSMOOR (1962) used a variable-interval escape schedule two years earlier. Both studies show that timing rules, not just shock level, steer escape.
Barton (1970) later added a twist: when a delay was required before escape could work (DRL), longer shock duration, not intensity, controlled latency. Together the three papers show that schedule type, duration, and intensity each take a turn in guiding behavior.
WEINER (1964) moved the idea to humans. College students pressed a button to avoid losing points. As point loss grew, escape turned into avoidance. The rat pattern held: bigger aversives make faster, more frequent responses.
Why it matters
You set escape-extinction or differential-reinforcement plans for kids who bolt, flop, or scream. This lab line reminds you that both the work requirement and the aversive strength are levers you can adjust. If the task feels too hard, the child may freeze; if the demand feels painful, the child may fight harder. Start by easing the ratio or lowering the aversive value, then shape up.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The effects of ratio length and shock intensity on bar pressing were examined in three rats in two escape-from-shock experiments. In Experiment I, shock intensity was held constant while the schedule was varied from FR 1 to FR 20. The latency of the first escape response increased with FR length while the escape rate, computed as over-all rate in shock minus latency of the first response, decreased at FR 20. In Experiment II, the schedule was held constant at FR 5 while shock intensity was manipulated. Latency decreased as intensity increased, while escape rate increased with intensity, passing through a maximum for two subjects. Responses occurring during the last 100 sec of the 2-min escape period decreased as the FR increased for all subjects, and decreased as shock intensity increased for two subjects.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1965 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1965.8-117