An apparatus was devised for studying habituation of an innate fear response in 20 fishes. Goldfish were observed while swimming up and down in a tall, narrow aquarium. The presentation of a loud buzzer caused them to freeze and drop, or actively swim, to the bottom of the tank. Both responses habituated with repeated presentations of the buzzer. A bright light, the sensitization stimulus, was presented after 30 trials and generated a renewed tendency to seek the bottom.
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