Rats were exposed to 23½ hr. of either lever-press escape (Group E), yoked-inescapable shock (Group I), or a nonshock condition (Group NS). 24 hr. after the end of the preceding treatment all Ss received 25 massed trials of instrumental escape in a runway. Running speed for the E and I groups was significantly slower than that of the NS group during the last 20 trials. Starting speed was slower for the E and I groups only on the last block of five trials. These findings were discussed in terms of the recent work on learned helplessness.
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