ABSTRACT
In spite of the vast behavioral data collected on avoidance over several decades, the question of how animals learn to avoid dangerous stimuli remains largely unanswered. Although several theories have been proposed to explain avoidance—notably Mowrer’s (1947) two-factor theory, Herrnstein’s (1969) one-factor theory, and Seligman and Johnston’s (1973) cognitive theory—none of them was able to provide a completely successful account of the experimental data accumulated over time.
