Two Skinner boxes are wired so that a painful electrical shock can be administered through the floor. Box A has a lever that will turn off the shock. Box B has a lever that does nothing. The two boxes are linked so the shock starts at the same time for both, and when the rat in Box A turns off the shock, it turns off for both boxes. Painful shocks are administered dozens of times at random intervals over a several hour trial. Which rat will experience more stress symptoms, and why?
A. The rat in A, because he has to do something to turn off the shock.
B. The rat in B, because he is unable to do anything to control the shock.
C. Both rats will experience the same symptoms, because both experience the same levels of shock.
D. Neither rat will experience stress symptoms, because the shock can be easily turned off.
B. The rat in B, because he is unable to do anything to control the shock.
Many studies have utilized this design, generally to examine learned helplessness. The consistent finding is that the rat in Skinner Box B (the box with no control) has substantially more stress-related symptoms. While the rats in both Skinner Boxes experience unpredictability, the rat in Skinner Box A has substantial controllability of the negative situation, while the rat in Box B has no controllability. Initially both rats will scramble around the boxes trying to avoid the shock, until the rat in Box A discovers that the lever will turn off the shock. The rat in Box B never becomes aware of the cause of the stop of the shock. Over extended trials, the rat in Box B will generally develop symptoms akin to Learned Helplessness, including no longer making efforts to avoid the shock but instead simply lying on the floor and accepting the outcomes.
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