But sometimes shocking rats doesn’t make them helpless; instead, it makes them confident, even courageous. The key to reversing the psychological effect of shocks is to give the rats some element of control. Any element of control. For example, in one setup, a rat is placed in a running wheel with an electrode attached to its tail. The experimenter delivers shocks until the rat turns the wheel. The rat can’t prevent new shocks, but it can shorten their duration. This rat doesn’t become depressed or traumatized; it becomes braver in new environments and more resilient to future stress.
