Taste reactivity as a dependent measure of the rapid formation of conditioned taste aversion: A tool for the neural analysis of taste-visceral associations.

Investigated the ability of animals to form taste aversions following neural manipulations. In Exp 1, 10 rats received intraoral infusions of sucrose every 5 min starting immediately after the injection of LiCl. 12 controls were injected with NaCl. Oromotor and somatic taste reactivity behaviors were videotaped and analyzed. Lithium-injected Ss decreased their ingestive taste reactivity over time; aversive behavior increased. Controls maintained high levels of ingestive responding and demonstrated virtually no aversive behavior following sodium injection. Ss were tested several days later for a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Rats previously injected with lithium demonstrated significantly more aversive behavior than controls. Exp 3 revealed that when similarly treated rats were tested for a CTA while in a lithium-induced state, difference in the ingestive behavior was observed. In Exp 2, naive rats were injected with NaCl or LiCl but did not receive their 1st sucrose infusion for 20 min. Ss also received infusions at 25 and 30 min postinjection. There were no differences in the task reactivity behavior displayed. Rats dramatically changed their oromotor responses to sucrose during the period following LiCl administration, provided the infusions started immediately after injection, a change attributable to associative processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential ordering of stimulus presentation in systematic desensitization.

50 snake-phobic female Ss were matched on degree of behavioral avoidance and subjective fear and then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 desensitization or 2 control groups: (a) imagined stimuli presented in order of increasing aversiveness, (b) stimuli presented in a decreasingly aversive order, (c) random order presentation, (d) pseudodesensitization, and (e) no-treatment control. Ss in the 3 desensitization groups showed significantly greater improvement than did Ss in either control group. While no differences were found between Ss exposed to an increasingly aversive hierarchy and Ss who received a decreasing order, the random order tended to be less effective than the other 2. An ascending aversive order of stimulus presentations is not an essential and integral part of successful desensitization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extinction versus credibility in the desensitization of speech anxiety.

Compared systematic desensitization with 2 control treatments—a nonextinction control procedure in which visualizations of hierarchy items were paired with an aversive shock, and a placebo treatment equal to desensitization in credibility. 97 undergraduates with public speaking anxiety (Personal Report of Confidence As a Speaker) served as Ss. Significant improvement was obtained for all 3 conditions on all outcome measures. Data indicate that Ss in all 3 conditions improved more than minimal treatment, simulation, and high-demand no-treatment-control Ss. Analyses failed to uncover any significant between-group differences. On 2 self-report measures, Ss' pretreatment ratings of treatment credibility accounted for significant and substantial proportions of the variance (12.6 and 36.5%). Data support the influence of perceived treatment credibility on outcome measures, and they tend to disconfirm conditioning explanations of the efficacy of systematic desensitization. A significant difference in treatment credibility ratings between actual Ss and pretest pilot Ss was also noted, suggesting the advisability of checking credibility manipulations with Ss who believe that they are to receive the treatment described in the rationale. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Successful treatment of smokers with a broad-spectrum behavioral approach.

Compared a broad-spectrum treatment (aversion, contractual management, booster sessions, group contact, and support) against a control limited to 1 wk of aversive conditioning (satiation). 16 males and 18 females (mean age 31.2 yrs) served as Ss. Results indicate a dramatic treatment effect, with 76% of experimental Ss (as compared to 35% of controls) remaining abstinent at a 6-mo follow-up. These findings suggest that a clinically effective program may have been established. Further research is needed both to isolate the effective components of treatment and to assess the possible application of similar broad-spectrum approaches to large numbers of smokers in clinical settings. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of aversive stimuli on reaction time in schizophrenia.

"… the experiment was to assess the motivational role of aversive stimuli in modifying the performance of normal and… schizophrenic… males… [on] a visual reaction time task… . During… [one] series Ss responded under… experimental conditions… [part of which] involved the use of intense noise as an aversive stimulus. None of the experimental conditions appreciably altered the performance of normal Ss. However, schizophrenic Ss performing under… [conditions involving noise] displayed greater improvement than control Ss." 22 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Sensitivity" of depressed individuals to aversive stimuli.

Conducted 2 studies to test the hypothesis that depressed individuals are more sensitive to aversive stimuli than nondepressed individuals. Undergraduates were classified into depressed, psychiatric control, and normal control groups (n = 24) on the basis of therapist ratings, interview techniques, and MMPI subscale scores. Autonomic response (skin resistance) to aversive stimulation was studied both before, during, and after Ss were given a mild electric shock. Adaptation over repeated presentations of the same aversive situation was also studied. It was found that depressed Ss showed a significantly greater autonomic response during, but not before or after, the presentation of the aversive stimulus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenic and normal response patterns to "aversive" and "neutral" associations in two paired-associate paradigms.

3 groups of Ss (hospitalized psychiatric patients, hospitalized nonpsychiatric patients, and college students) were required to learn 2 classes of paired associates—neutral and aversive by 2 methods of presentation of the material: (a) after the traditional presentation of the stimulus word, S was required to anticipate the correct response; (b) S viewed 2 words in the window and had to select the correct one. The results indicated that in general it was much more difficult to learn the "aversive" words than the neutral ones, and hospital patients as a group had more difficulty than the college Ss. However, sensitivity to group differences was enhanced when S was required to use the 2nd rather than the traditional 1st method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pavlovian extinction in rats during avoidance response prevention.

Attempted to determine whether extinction of the aversive properties of a CS occurs during avoidance response prevention. 48 naive male albino Sprague-Dawley rats served as Ss. The CS remained somewhat aversive even after 5 5-min unreinforced presentations during response prevention, but it was significantly less aversive for Ss exposed to it without reinforcement than for nonblocked Ss or for blocked Ss given unreinforced exposures to the shock compartment in the absence of a CS. This finding supports analyses which assign a contributory role to Pavlovian extinction of CS aversiveness in facilitating avoidance extinction by response prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Kaiser-Permanente Smoking Control Program: Its purpose and implications for an HMO.

Investigated the effects of posttreatment maintenance on the cessation of smoking within 4 behavioral treatment modalities. 72 Ss (mean age 50 yrs) were randomly assigned to either aversive conditioning (rapid smoking), covert conditioning, behavioral group therapy, or a combined treatment group. Treatment involved 5 consecutive treatment sessions and 14 maintenance sessions over a 12-mo period. Results show that after 6 mo of treatment, the combined condition yielded 77% complete abstinence; the covert condition, 67%; the aversive condition, 57%; and the group therapy condition, 15%. 12 mo following treatment, the combined condition yielded 77% complete abstinence, the covert condition, 56%; the aversive condition, 36%; and the group therapy, 15%. It is concluded that psychologists, because of their particular training and skills, can make important innovative contributions to the prevention of illness in health maintenance organizations. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned aversions to copulatory behaviors in male rats.

Used LiCl for an aversive effect on copulatory behavior in adult experienced and inexperienced male hooded rats (Exp I) and in inexperienced adult male Holtzman rats (Exp II). When males received an injection of LiCl immediately after an encounter with an estrous female, the vigor of subsequent copulatory responding was initially unaffected. After 5–20 such pairings, however, males displayed an aversion to copulatory behaviors; they ceased to copulate entirely. These aversions persisted when Ss were tested in a novel environment and extinguished after 4 nonreinforced trials. This multiple-trial adaptation of the conditioned taste aversion paradigm provides a new approach to the aversive control of sexual behavior. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking modification procedures for internal and external locus of control clients.

Examined relationships between locus of control and effectiveness of 2 treatment procedures in a smoking clinic in order to develop treatments of choice for internal and external locus of control clients. Ss were 42 adult volunteers who completed Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale. The treatment factors studied were an aversive satiation procedure, and the agent (client or therapist) who decided the rate at which smoking was reduced. Analyses of posttreatment smoking rates showed no main effects for the treatment or Ss factors other than time of follow-up. However, an interaction between the satiation treatment, locus of control, and time of follow-up factors was significant. Internal clients who had received satiation procedures were found to sustain improvement better than internal clients not receiving satiation. External Ss tended to do better under no satiation conditions. Insofar as the no-satiation condition relied on a situational analysis of environmental influences on smoking while the satiation Ss received the aversive technique, results suggest guidelines for matching internally and externally focused treatment to the respective internal and external orientations of clients. (French summary) (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of excessive and rapid smoking in the modification of chronic smoking behavior.

In a study of aversive control of smoking behavior, 27 females and 18 males (mean age, 30.9 yrs; mean yrs as a smoker, 13.1; mean baseline cigarettes/day, 31.6) were randomly assigned to rapid smoking, excessive smoking, or control conditions. Ss attended 6 treatment sessions over a 1-wk period. Prescribed smoking was carried on in both the laboratory and outside environment. A breath test measuring concentration of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream was used as a check on the reliability of self-reports. Overall, there was a statistically reliable treatment effect, according to measures of percentage reductions in smoking and Ss maintaining total abstinence. However, treatment effect had disappeared at 12-mo follow-up. Experimental and control groups showed considerable relapse independent of condition, with only 20% of Ss remaining abstinent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction, control, and learned helplessness.

Examined the independent effects of perceived control over and perceived predictability of an aversive event on 100 undergraduates' performance on a memory task and depressive affect. All Ss completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List and the Desirability of Control Scale. Ss who received noise blasts that were both uncontrollable and unpredictable displayed performance decrements and depressive affect relative to a no-noise group, whereas Ss who were able either to control or to predict the aversive event did not. The perception of control or predictability concerning the aversive event was thus sufficient to mitigate learned helplessness, suggesting the functional equivalence of perceived control and predictability. Finally, results reveal that Ss high in the "desire for control over events" reacted to the aversive noise more than did Ss low in the desire for control. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An aversive treatment for addicted cigarette smokers: Preliminary report.

An aversive stimulus (electric shock) was paired with cigarette smoking in two groups of addicted smokers. In one group (E) the shock was made increasingly painful, in the other group (C) it was subliminal. In both groups shock was terminated when S put out his cigarette. Treatment was given in one session, with an average of 10 smoking-shock pairings per S. On 25% of trials shock was omitted. The treatment greatly reduced smoking in group E (9 Ss) but not in group C (4 Ss), and therefore has promise for the treatment of heavy smokers. Some subsidiary effects of the treatment were also noticed. More than two years after treatment there was evidence of reduced rates in some E group subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naloxone and shock-elicited freezing in the rat.

In the 1st of 6 experiments with 325 Long-Evans rats it was found that the freezing behavior of the rat that occurs following painful electric shock increased when Ss were pretreated with the opiate antagonist naloxone. Freezing was a positive linear function of drug dose and shock intensity (Exp II). Naloxone pretreatment enhanced freezing only when Ss were given 2 or 3 shocks but did not affect freezing when Ss were given only 1 shock or were not shocked at all (Exps III, IV, and V). Naloxone had to be present during shock to increase freezing (Exp VI). Results suggest that when a rat is shocked, it releases endogenous analgesics (endorphins) that make a subsequent shock less aversive. Naloxone, by blocking the endorphin system, makes the shock more aversive than it would normally be. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alcohol and behavior contingencies on human aggression.

Determined the mediating effects of alcohol and behavior contingencies on aggression in male social drinkers. 72 18–35 yr old Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 groups in a 3?×?2 factorial design. To control for alcohol and expectation effects, one third of the Ss received alcoholic beverages, one third received placebo drinks, and another third was not administered any beverages. Aggression was assessed by the intensity and duration of shocks administered to a bogus partner in a modification of the Buss aggression procedure. Half of the Ss were exposed to aversive contingencies correlated with their aggressive responses, and half received random aversive contingencies. The inebriated Ss were significantly more aggressive than the sober Ss. The former Ss displayed an equally aggressive pattern under both contingency conditions, whereas the nonintoxicated Ss displayed a differential response pattern affected by the contingency type. These findings are attributed to the disrupting effect of alcohol on information processing and to the mediating effect of contingencies on the nonintoxicated individuals' aggressive behavior. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of behavior modification approaches to smoking reduction.

Compared 2 experimental treatments for the modification of cigarette smoking with 2 control conditions, using a refined methodology for collecting daily smoking records and providing for an examination of therapist effects. 65 undergraduates served as Ss. The 1st experimental treatment employed a stimulus satiation technique in which Ss smoked 3 cigarettes on each smoking occasion. The 2nd, a hierarchy approach, involved gradual reduction beginning with the period of the day judged easiest for relinquishing cigarettes. In 1 control treatment, Ss used a pill designed to coat the mouth to make cigarettes aversive; the other control groups were instructed to quit entirely. Each of the 4 conditions showed its own characteristic reduction curve and all reduced to a mean level below 25% of base. There was a significant effect of therapist during treatment, but none at 6-mo follow-up by which time all groups had shown a considerable relapse. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aversive conditioning and contingency management in the treatment of smoking.

Supplemented aversive approaches with contingency management in 49 Ss with a mean baseline smoking rate of 25.8 cigarettes/day. Rapid smoking was no more effective than slow smoking. Significantly more contingency management Ss than follow-up or no-follow-up control Ss were abstinent both initially and at 2 mo, but at 6 mo, treatment effects were no longer evident. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and preference for self-focusing stimuli after success and failure.

Hypothesized that depressives, unlike nondepressives, do not find self-focus more aversive after failure than after success, and thus either (a) show no differential preference for self-focusing stimuli after success vs after failure (weak hypothesis) or (b) prefer self-focusing stimuli after failure over self-focusing stimuli after success (strong hypothesis). 36 female and 20 male undergraduate students, selected on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, were randomly assigned to outcome conditions in a 2?×?2 (nondepressed vs depressed?×?success vs failure) factorial design. Ss succeeded or failed on a supposed test of verbal intelligence and then worked on 2 sets of puzzles, 1 in the presence and 1 in the absence of a self-focusing stimulus (mirror). Results indicate that, whereas nondepressed Ss liked the mirror-associated puzzle more after success than after failure, depressed Ss did not; depressed Ss tended to like the mirror-associated puzzle more after failure than after success. Nondepressed Ss also exhibited a self-serving pattern of attributions, viewing the test as less valid and luck as more responsible for their performance after failure than after success; depressed Ss showed no such differences. Consistent with their failure to use defensive strategies, depressed Ss showed a decrease in self-esteem after failure; nondepressed Ss showed no such change. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)