Avoidance is behaviour that prevents or postpones the occurrence of an aversive stimulus; whereas, escape is behaviour that terminates an aversive stimulus. There are two types of avoidance, both of which prevent an aversive stimulus from occurring. Standard avoidance involves a warning stimulus that predicts an aversive stimulus, reinforced by the termination of the warning stimulus. Alternatively, Sidman or free-operant avoidance does not include a warning stimulus and it is unknown what the exact reinforcing properties are that maintain it. Previous research has found that Betta splendens (Siamese fighting fish) may not engage in Sidman avoidance whereas other fish species including Carassius auratus (goldfish) do. The present study looked at whether Betta splendens could be taught Sidman avoidance when water disturbance is the aversive stimulus, by prompting the fish to emit the avoidance response of crossing over between the two sides of an experimental tank in 30second intervals, and reinforcing the behaviour with a mirror. Results showed an increase in the frequency of independent (i.e., unprompted) crossovers between the sides of the experimental tank resulting in avoidance of water disturbance, an aversive stimulus for these fish. The increase in responding was maintained for one of the three subjects when reinforcement was removed, suggesting that this species can learn Sidman avoidance. / May 2016

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-06-22T12:19:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Deborah Paz de Almeida.pdf: 1263931 bytes, checksum: 6e02e1d249550ad9d674281dbdec4758 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-22T12:19:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Deborah Paz de Almeida.pdf: 1263931 bytes, checksum: 6e02e1d249550ad9d674281dbdec4758 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / On Behavior Analysis it is possible to understand punishment based mainly on two perspectives: asymmetrical, that defines punishment by it‘s procedures; And symmetrical, which also refers to the behavioral process. The main authors of these perspectives are Skinner, and Azrin and Holz, respectively. Each of these perspectives results on different experimental and practical implications. The objective of the present work is to analyze the development of the concepts of punishment by William K. Estes and Murray Sidman, two authors who are prominent on the asymmetrical perspective, but have been less studied than Skinner. For this purpose, texts about punishment, experimental and theoretical-conceptual, written by both authors, were selected from the PsycNet platform, from a list of Murray Sidman articles available at the Experimental Psychology Laboratory of PUC-SP, and by contact with other researchers. A total of four texts written by Estes and 16 texts written by Sidman were found, in addition to an interview given by Sidman to Per Holth. The texts were then fully read, with the excerpts that made reference to: a) definitions of punishment, aversive or punishing stimulus, coercion or aversive control; b) effects of punishment; c) explanation of its effects; d) debates with other authors about the subject; and e) discussion about the use of punishment; being highlighted and analyzed. Based on this analysis it was possible to identify similarities between the concepts proposed by Estes, Sidman and Skinner. In relation to definition, the similarities between Sidman and Skinners proposals, and the characterization of punishment proposed by Estes, stand out. By describing possible weakening effects of punishment, Estes and Sidman point out to its temporality and to the aversive relations that emerge by stimulus conditioning. On the subject of the explanation given to punishment effects, Skinner, Estes and Sidman all point out to the possibility of strengthening of a response capable of reducing the aversive stimulation that the punished response itself generates, and Estes later presents some criticism to this interpretation; and Sidman emphasizes the competition of reinforcing and punishing consequences as another possible interpretation that explains the observed effects. Estes and Sidman don‘t dialog among themselves, even though both present debates with Skinner. Lastly, Estes and Sidman dedicate some part of their work to discuss the implication of the practical uses of punishment / Na Análise do Comportamento é possível entender a punição com base, principalmente, em duas perspectivas: assimétrica, que define punição procedimentalmente; e simétrica, que faz menção também ao processo comportamental. Os principais representantes dessas perspectivas são Skinner e Azrin e Holz, respectivamente. Cada uma das perspectivas resulta em diferentes implicações experimentais e práticas. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar o desenvolvimento dos conceitos de punição de William K. Estes e Murray Sidman, dois autores que se destacam na perspectiva assimétrica, porém, foram menos explorados que Skinner. Para tanto, selecionaram-se os trabalhos sobre punição experimentais e teórico-conceituais de ambos os autores na plataforma PsycNet, em uma lista de artigos de Murray Sidman existente no Laboratório de Psicologia Experimental da PUC-SP e através do contato com pesquisadores. Foi encontrado um total de quatro textos de autoria de Estes e 16 textos da autoria de Sidman, além de uma entrevista concedida por Sidman a Per Holth. Os textos foram lidos integralmente, sendo destacados e analisados os trechos de cada trabalho que faziam referência a: a) definição de punição, estímulo aversivo ou punidor, coerção ou controle aversivo; b) efeitos da punição; c) explicação dos efeitos da punição; d) debate com outros autores sobre o tema; e e) discussão do uso da punição. Com base nessa análise foi possível identificar semelhanças entre os conceitos propostos por Estes, Sidman e Skinner. Em relação à definição, destaca-se a semelhança entre as propostas de Sidman e Skinner, e a caracterização da punição proposta por Estes. Ao descrever possíveis efeitos enfraquecedores da punição, Estes e Sidman apontam para a sua temporariedade e para as relações aversivas que emergem pelo condicionamento de estímulos. Sobre a explicação dada aos efeitos da punição, tanto Skinner quanto Estes e Sidman apontam para a possibilidade do fortalecimento de uma resposta capaz de reduzir a estimulação aversiva que a própria resposta punida gera, sendo que Estes posteriormente apresenta críticas a essa interpretação; e Sidman enfatiza a competição de consequências reforçadoras e punidoras como uma outra possível interpretação que explica os efeitos observados. Estes e Sidman não dialogam entre si, apesar de ambos apresentarem debates com Skinner. Por fim, Estes e Sidman dedicam alguma parte do seu trabalho para discutir a implicação dos usos práticos da punição

The present research explored the role of RES manipulation on ongoing Sidman avoidance behavior. Results of the first phase revealed that both experimental drugs significantly altered RES levels in predicted directions after the first measure; however, only stimulated subjects maintained significant differences after 5 days. No activity-level differences were noted in any subjects due to drugs across time. Sidman avoidance data indicated that RES-stimulated subjects showed significant deterioration in avoidance performance as compared to other groups for the first session. Stimulated subjects were also poorer on the second and third sessions, but statistical significance was not obtained because some saline subjects also showed poorer performance. A rank order correlation revealed that a significant negative correlation existed between RES stimulation and avoidance performance, based on changes in RES levels from baseline to the end of the shock program. These data suggest that increased stress resistance due to RES stimulation may reduce the aversive properties of the shock program, thus decreasing motivation for responding. It was concluded that artificial methods of inducing stress resistance by RES stimulation may be a useful therapeutic technique for patients experiencing psychological stress.