A Study of validity of open‐field measures
TL;DR: In this paper, seven open-field measures (defecation, ambulation, urination, washing, rearing, latency and inner circle activity) were obtained using a number of different scoring methods for albino and hooded rats.
Abstract: Seven open-field measures (defecation, ambulation, urination, washing, rearing, latency and inner circle activity) were obtained using a number of different scoring methods for albino and hooded rats. The validity of these measures was examined using (a) day by day decrease of open-field behaviour, (b) effects of retesting over a period of time, (c) variation of stimulus intensity (light and noise). It was found that methods a and b did not provide satisfactory validity estimates. Method c indicated that defecation and latency can be accepted as valid indices of emotionality in rats.
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TL;DR: Over the w t 4 0 years Lhc open field bar ~ o l v e d a a commonly used tool for the rnmumcnt of animal behavior ~ a dtical look at the the authors of instrument, with regard to the development of a standard form for iu w.
Abstract: Over the w t 4 0 years Lhc open field bar ~ o l v e d a a commonly used tool for the rnmumcnt of animal behavior. Thh m i e w taka a dtical look at the we of I& instrument, u&y with regard to the development of a standard form for iu w. The variou procedura and .their sbortcomingr are 'dkmued, w i t h partimlar rcfupacc to the seemingly incooseguential detdk which have b.& showb to ioduhte open-field prformancc per w. Depndent paramrerr are considered both vith regard to their reliability and their validity for the measurement of such undul,ing mnstrucb as emotionality.
2,185 citations
TL;DR: Findings clearly failed to support the use of emotionality as a consistent constitutional trait, with unitary drive properties, in ‘novel environment’ tests (e.g. emergence tests, active avoidance learning).
1,533 citations
TL;DR: The great variability in behavior and in physiological patterns generally associated with emotional reactivity is described, suggesting that fearfulness could be considered a basic feature of the temperament of each individual, one that predisposes it to respond similarly to a variety of potentially alarming challenges but is nevertheless continually modulated during development by the interaction of genetic traits of reactivity with environmental factors, particularly in the juvenile period.
Abstract: Persistence of individual differences in animal behavior in reactions to various environmental challenges could reflect basic divergences in temperament, which might be used to predict details of adaptive response. Although studies have been carried out onfear and anxiety in various species, including laboratory, domestic and wild animals, no consistent definition offearfulness as a basic trait of temperament has emerged. After a classification of the events that may produce a state of fear, this article describes the great variability in behavior and in physiological patterns generally associated with emotional reactivity. The difficulties of proposing fearfulness - the general capacity to react to a variety of potentially threatening situations - as a valid basic internal variable are then discussed. Although there are many studies showing covariation among the psychobiological responses to different environmental challenges, other studies find no such correlations and raise doubts about the interpretation offearfulness as a basic personality trait. After a critical assessment of methodologies used in fear and anxiety studies, it is suggested that discrepancies among results are mainly due to the modulation of emotional responses in animals, which depend on numerous genetic and epigenetic factors. It is difficult to compare results obtained by different methods from animals reared under various conditions and with different genetic origins. The concept offearfulness as an inner trait is best supported by two kinds of investigations. First, an experimental approach combining ethology and experimental psychology produces undeniable indicators of emotional reactivity. Second, genetic lines selectedfor psychobiological traits prove useful in establishing relationships between behavioral and neuroendocrine aspects of emotional reactivity. It is suggested that fearfulness could be considered a basic feature of the temperament of each individual, one that predisposes it to respond similarly to a variety of potentially alarming challenges, but is nevertheless continually modulated during development by the interaction of genetic traits of reactivity with environmentalfactors, particularly in the juvenile period. Such interaction may explain much of the interindividual variability observed in adaptive responses.
709 citations
Cites background from "A Study of validity of open‐field m..."
...increases the defecation rate in rats (Ivinskis, 1970), the plasma level of corticosteroids in mice (M....
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...Fearfulness may thus be considered an inner trait of the individual, an intermediary between perceived stimulations (or independent variables) and psychobiological responses (or dependent variables) (Ivinskis, 1970; Gray, 1979)....
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...fulness may thus be considered an inner trait of the individual, an intermediary between perceived stimulations (or independent variables) and psychobiological responses (or dependent variables) (Ivinskis, 1970; Gray, 1979)....
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...The increase in the level of novelty in the pen increases the defecation rate in rats (Ivinskis, 1970), the plasma level of corticosteroids in mice (M. B. Hennessy and Levine, 1978, M. B. Hennessy and Foy, 1987) and rats (Armario et al., 1986), the duration of freezing in chicks Uones and Faure,…...
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TL;DR: A detailed ethological analysis of the OFT allows not only the detection of specific effects of drugs and non-pharmacological agents on anxiety-like behaviors, but also permits the examination of non-specific effects, in particular those on general activity.
652 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents a critical evaluation of behavioural methods currently used to investigate stress and emotionality and proposes a multiple-testing approach, paralleled by factor analyses, as a tool to dissociate and study the different dimensions of emotionality.
509 citations
Cites background from "A Study of validity of open‐field m..."
...To the main criticisms by Archer, it could be added that, whereas defecation can be increased by intensifying the aversiveness of the environment, ambulation has been shown either not to change or to increase with increasing light and noise levels (127)....
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...Some studies, however, have shown the opposite, that is, both defecation and ambulation decrease with habituation (127,179,221)....
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...Some of the arguments supporting the use of these two measures as indices of emotionality are that: (i) several studies have shown negative correlations between defecation and ambulation for rats and mice (50,103,108,115,176); (ii) defecation increases by increasing the aversiveness (light or novelty) of the situation (127,165,177) and (iii) rats genetically selected for high defecation in the open field also show signs of high emotionality in other experimental situations (34)....
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1,148 citations
TL;DR: Two experiments are described that give general validity to the use of the open-field test as a measure of the construct of emotional reactivity, and indicate that the test measures a second behavioral dimension, so that there are certain difficulties in the interpretation of theopen-field activity score.
Abstract: The rationale underlying the use of the open-field test is roughly as follows. Many mammals, when exposed to strange or noxious stimuli, will typically “freeze.” Freezing appears to have adaptative significance in that it is more difficult for a predator to observe a nonmoving animal. A second consequence of exposure to such stimuli is that this will often trigger off activity in the autonomic nervous system. One of the results of such activity is that the animal will defecate. Thus, an emotional animal may be defined as one which, when exposed to noxious or novel stimuli, does not move about and will defecate. To construct such a set of stimuli for the laboratory rat, which is our most common experimental subject, is relatively easy. All we have to do is place the rat into an environment that is distinctly different from any environment he has previously encountered. The open field meets these requirements since it is an apparatus in which the rat has not previously been placed and since its dimensions are vastly greater than the boundaries of his usual living quarters. These conditions should ensure that the open field is both strange and at least mildly noxious to the rat. By drawing appropriately sized squares on the floor of the open field, it is possible to quantify activity by recording the number of squares the animal enters during a given unit of time. One easily quantifies defecation by counting the number of boluses dropped during the testing interval. Given these data the operational definition of an emotional animal is one that has a low activity score and a high defecation score. I believe that the above statements fairly represent the rationale for the use of the open-field test. My statements are reasonable, they have ethological validity and they are, of course, completely circular. We can state, if we wish, that emotionality is that which the open-field test measures and feel safe, secure, and smug behind such a statement. If we do this, however, we are avoiding one quite unpleasant aspect of reality: How do we demonstrate the validity of the statement that the open-field test measures the construct of emotionality? What I should like to do today is describe two experiments that give general validity to the use of the open-field test as a measure of the construct of emotional reactivity. However, these data also indicate that the test measures a second behavioral dimension, so that there are certain difficulties in the interpretation of the open-field activity score.
556 citations
427 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an experiment was designed to establish optimum conditions for using Hall's open-field test of emotionality in white rat and the results showed that females defecate significantly less than males and ambulate more, that noise is a potent factor in evoking emotional elimination and light less so.
Abstract: An experiment was designed to establish optimum conditions for using Hall's open-field test of emotionality in white rat. A large (N = 192) factorial design permitted simultaneous evaluation of following components of test which were thought to be productive of emotional responses: size of test arena, intensity of illumination and intensity of sound. effects of pre-trial shock, food deprivation and sex difference were also investigated. Other variables were strictly controlled.
results, principally analysed in terms of defecation and ambulation scores, show that females defecate significantly less than males and ambulate more, that noise is a potent factor in evoking emotional elimination and light less so. Arena size does not affect defecation, but rats run farther in a larger arena. Pre-trial shock reduces defecation, whereas food deprivation has no significant effect. Interactions are few, and mostly concern sex differences in response.
It is concluded that test can yield sensitive indicators of an emotional response, and that this response is susceptible, within limits, to experimental control. implications for use of test are discussed.
333 citations