Controllability/uncontrollability of aversive stimuli and emotion

1996 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 07610094
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 実験系心理学
• Research Institution: Kwansei Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: IMADA Hiroshi Kwansei Gakuin University School of Humanities Professor, 文学部, 教授 (60079613)
• Project Period (FY): 1995 – 1996
• Keywords: emotion / aversive-stimulus / control / feedback

Research Abstract

The present research was designed to investigate an attenuating effect of an exteroceptive feedback stimulus on fear from inescapable shock in the two acpects ; Conditioned emotional response (CER) and Basal emotional level (BEL). In two experiments with rats, we employed the triadic design (Groups master (M), yoked (Y), yoked-feedback (YF) in conditioned licking suppression paradigm with shuttlebox avoidance preparation. In Experiment 1, in which minimum inter-trial interval was 30s, Group M and YF demonstrated less BEL than Group Y.In Experiment 2, which minimum inter-trial interval was 5s, Group M demonstrated less BEL than Group Y and YF.These results suggests that fear-attenuating effect of feedback stimulus depends on its inhibitory property, and that there are different underlying mechanisms between the effect of controllability and the effect of exeroceptive feedback stimulus on BEL.In terms of CER,however, we acquired little information because the measure we employed was not appropriate.