One-way characteristic performance of rats under two-way signaled avoidance conditions

In Experiment 1, the conflict in a two-way active avoidance was reduced by allowing rats to avoid one of two levels of shock by running onto a safe platform which covered one half of the grid floor. Performance characteristics of one-way avoidance were obtained regardless of the shock intensity. Groups with no platform showed poor performance. Experiment 2 suggested that the facilitatory effect of the platforms was not due to the cue associated with platform removal. These results suggest that (a) rats can quickly learn to enter a spatially aversive location, (b) fast avoidance learning may be obtained in a two-way setting, and (c) rats seem capable of selective association of environmental and aversive stimuli.