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Two temporal parameters of food postponement.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|July 1, 1972
Summary
Rats trained on food postponement schedules showed varied lever-pressing behavior. Response rates depended on the timing of food delivery, with specific intervals maintaining or reducing responding.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Operant Conditioning
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Operant conditioning principles govern behavior modification through consequences.
- Understanding response-contingent reinforcement schedules is crucial for behavioral analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of food postponement schedules on rat lever-pressing behavior.
- To determine how response-food and food-food intervals influence response rates.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained to press a lever under fixed food-food intervals (30s, 60s, 10 min) and varying response-food intervals.
- Response-food intervals were systematically increased and then decreased to observe recovery.
- The food-food interval was manipulated while the response-food interval remained constant.
Main Results:
- Responding increased then decreased with longer response-food intervals at shorter food-food intervals (30s, 60s).
- At a 10-min food-food interval, responding consistently decreased as response-food intervals lengthened.
- Low responding occurred when response-food intervals were long or exceeded food-food intervals.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between response-food and food-food intervals significantly impacts operant responding.
- Behavioral patterns under food postponement schedules share similarities with shock avoidance paradigms.
- Response-independent and response-produced reinforcement dynamics were explored.