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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats
Published on: March 17, 2019
Effects of reinforcer duration on responding in two-link chained interval schedules
Abstract:
Each of five pigeons was exposed to two or more durations of access to mixed grains on two-link, chained, interval schedules in which both links were identical fixed-interval or variable-interval schedules. Response rates were an increasing function of reinforcer duration for both initial and terminal links. For both types of interval schedules, initial-link response rates were more sensitive to reinforcer duration than were terminal-link response rates. The present results, together with prior ones, suggest that chaining and choice procedures are each sufficient for demonstrating substantial sensitivity of responding to changes in reinforcer duration.
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