Article,
Influence of experimentally induced aggressive behaviour on learning in Betta splendens
Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 42 (3): 225--246 (1976)
Abstract
Investigated whether aggressive behavior before or after training had an effect on learning in male Siamese fighting fish. 114 Ss were trained on a visual discrimination task. Studies indicate that aggressive behavior in the Siamese fighting fish may influence the acquisition of an optical discrimination task (discrimination of a white and a black square), when the Ss are allowed to fight against their mirror image for 15 min before or after the daily learning session. The learning ability of 11 groups of Ss was compared with that of nonstimulated controls. After removing the mirror, there was still high motor activity, which decreased with time. Fighting had a proactive positive effect on learning when it occurred within 1 hr before training. When aggressions were released within a greater time span before learning, their positive effect on the memory processes was reduced. Fighting had a retroactive negative effect on learning when it occurred within 2 hrs after the daily training. Factors which may have contributed to the proactive positive and the retroactive inhibitory effects of aggression on learning are discussed. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)
