Temporal form of shock is a determinant of magnitude of interference with escape-avoidance learning produced by exposure to inescapable shock

The influence of differing temporal forms of inescapable shock on movement during shock and subsequent interference with escape-avoidance learning in the rat was examined using procedures patterned after those of Overmier and Seligman (1967). Results indicated that a series of inescapable shocks of an intermittent nature produced sustained movement during shock and no subsequent interference, whereas comparable exposure to a series of noninterrupted shocks resulted in immobility during shock and marked interference. Several interpretations of these findings were discussed and their implications for theoretical conceptions of the interference phenomenon were explored.