Conditioned emotional responses

Conditioned emotional responses can develop as a consequence of classical conditioning. For example in the rat where the pressing of the lever in response to food has been effectively conditioned, if a conditioned stimulus such as a loud tone precedes the presentation of an aversiveunconditioned stimulus, such as an electric shock, the animal suppresses responding with a lever press for food, even though it is available and is independent of the tone and shock. This has been taken as evidence that the rat has acquired a conditioned emotional response (fear) that is incompatible with the feeding behavior, and this accounts for its suppression.