Aggressiveness and learning ability: Effect of histories of wins or defeats on avoidance learning in mice

Thirty-two mice, exposed to a series of fighting matches designed to elicit aggressive behavior, tended to become either dominant or submissive, and when later trained on an avoidance task, submissive Ss learned significantly faster than dominant Ss.

Abstract

Thirty-two mice, exposed to a series of fighting matches designed to elicit aggressive behavior, tended to become either dominant or submissive. When later trained on an avoidance task, submissive Ss learned significantly faster than dominant Ss. These results lend support to the hypothesis that the tendency for a dominant animal to respond with aggressiveness is maladaptive and leads to slower learning, whereas the tendency for a submissive animal to escape or avoid is adaptive and leads to faster learning.