three experiments were conducted to investigate the reinstatement effect, in which amnesia has been reported following the pairing of a noncontingent footshock and ecs. in experiment i the possibility that a fs-ecs combination is more effective than a single ecs at disrupting memory consolidation was examined. rats trained on a passive avoidance task which received ecs 15 seconds after training showed a partial amnesia. a noncontingent footshock preceding ecs at 15 seconds did not augment this amnesia but rather attenuated it, providing no support for a consolidation interpretation of the reinstatement effect.