CROUCHING AS AN INDEX OF FEAR

Obtained an index of the magnitude of postshock crouching for 24 naive male rats given a single 1-sec footshock and tested in the same or a different situation. The 16 shocked Ss crouched significantly more than nonshocked controls only in the situation in which shock had been given, indicating that crouching is elicited by stimulus cues associated with a single shock. Additional experiments indicated that crouching is not similar to the immobility postures acquired during continuous shock. The results were interpreted as indicating that crouching may be an index of fear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.