Two experiments were conducted with rats to investigate variables responsible for the effectiveness of using a safe platform in two-way avoidance training and to evaluate the relative efficacy of several theoretical positions (conflict reduction, reinforcement, and freezing attenuation) that were offered to explain the wide differences in…

Presents three experiments that explore whether inescapable shock of long duration and moderate intensity (LoShk) produces an avoidance-escape deficit (called an interference effect) by causing animals to learn to respond less actively or by causing them to learn to be "helpless". (Editor)