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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse
Published on: November 10, 2010
Confirmation of linear system theory prediction: Changes in Herrnstein's k as a function of changes in reinforcer
Abstract:
Eight human subjects pressed a lever on a range of variable-interval schedules for 0.25 cent to 35.0 cent per reinforcement. Herrnstein's hyperbola described seven of the eight subjects' response-rate data well. For all subjects, the y-asymptote of the hyperbola increased with increasing reinforcer magnitude and its reciprocal was a linear function of the reciprocal of reinforcer magnitude. These results confirm predictions made by linear system theory; they contradict formal properties of Herrnstein's account and of six other mathematical accounts of single-alternative responding.
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