Passive avoidance learning as a function of behavioral inhibition and activation among female inmates Tina M. Gremore a, * , Alexander L. Chapman b , Richard F. Farmer c a University of North Carolina, Department of Psychology, CB#3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States b Simon Fraser University, Department of Psychology, 8888 University Drive, Burnby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6 c University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Received 29 April 2004; received in revised form 1 March 2005; accepted 15 March 2005 Available online 29 June 2005 Abstract This study examined the association between temperament and behavioral disinhibition among incarcer- ated females (N = 128) within a passive avoidance learning (PAL) paradigm. Participants completed mea- sures of temperament dimensions associated with behavioral inhibition (BI) and behavioral activation (BA) as well as one of two PAL tasks. Task 1 allowed participants to reflect on their response feedback for up to 7 s, whereas Task 2 involved a fixed duration (3 s) of response feedback. For Caucasian participants, those high in both BA and BI committed more passive avoidance errors (PAEs) in Tasks 1 and 2, and reflected less on punishment feedback in Task 1 than other participant groups. For Task 1, reflection on punishment was negatively associated with PAEs. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Female inmates; Passive avoidance learning; Punishment sensitivity; Response reflection; Anxiety; Impul- sivity 0191-8869/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.03.011 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: tina.gremore@unc.edu (T.M. Gremore). www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Personality and Individual Differences 39 (2005) 925–936