Therefore, the present experiment can be considered a valid model for studying stress because a significant cortisol increase followed both treatments. Testosterone has been correlated with aggression or frustration behaviors in some male animals. It was hoped that testosterone would show some difference between the two treatments in this experiment because the animals were presumably more distressed following the FRUS treatment. However, this was not the case because testosterone failed to show any consistent response to either treatment. A difference was detected in b -E response to the different treatments.
Animals devote a large portion of their lives to minimizing the effects of stress and pain.
Therefore, it would seem logical that mechanisms exist in the body to minimize the effects of stressors. It was observed that the b -E values increased in response to the FRUS treatment which prevented a behavior normally reinforced with a positive reward of sexual pleasure. SIA has been observed in other studies after procedures or manipulations that have aversive or distressful effects upon the animal. Presumably, the FRUS treatments elicited a form of distress in the animal which is not desirable for maximum production. Behaviorally, the results coincide with the belief that when animals are stressed, or when well-being is not being maximized, they spend less time in productive functions such as resting or eating.