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Related Experiment Videos

Behavioral contrast in competitive and noncompetitive environments.

J D Dougan, F K McSweeney, V A Farmer-Dougan

    Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
    |September 1, 1986
    PubMed
    Summary

    Opportunities for drinking influenced rats' bar pressing behavior, creating two types of behavioral contrast. This contrast depended on drinking probability and food reinforcement rates.

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    Area of Science:

    • Behavioral Psychology
    • Animal Behavior Studies

    Background:

    • Behavioral contrast, specifically positive behavioral contrast, is a phenomenon where response rates increase in one schedule component when another component is changed to extinction.
    • The role of alternative responses, such as drinking, in modulating behavioral contrast has been a subject of theoretical debate.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the influence of drinking opportunities on positive behavioral contrast in rats responding for food reinforcement.
    • To differentiate between potential mechanisms underlying behavioral contrast, including competition theory and the matching law.

    Main Methods:

    • Three experiments utilized multiple variable-interval schedules of food reinforcement in rats.
    • The presence or absence of a water bottle and the water deprivation status of the rats were manipulated.

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  • Changes in bar pressing rates and drinking behavior were recorded when one schedule component was shifted to extinction.

    • Main Results:

    • Positive behavioral contrast occurred, with its magnitude influenced by the availability of drinking and the richness of the food schedule.
    • Drinking behavior shifted to the extinction component under conditions of water deprivation and high food reinforcement density.
    • Contrast was larger when drinking was absent in non-deprived rats, but larger when drinking was present in deprived rats.

    Conclusions:

    • The study identified two sources of behavioral contrast: 'competitive' (high alternative response probability) and 'noncompetitive' (low alternative response probability).
    • The findings suggest that the type of alternative response and the rate of food reinforcement interact to determine the extent of behavioral contrast.