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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Avoidance of timeout from response-independent food: effects of delivery rate and quality
Joseph V Richardson1, Alan Baron
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA. jvr@uwm.edu
Abstract:
In three experiments, a rat's lever presses could postpone timeouts from food pellets delivered on response-independent schedules. In Experiment 1, the pellets were delivered at variable-time (VT) rates ranging from VT 0.5 to VT 8 min. Experiment 2 replicated the VT 1 min and VT 8 min conditions of Experiment 1 with new subjects. Finally, subjects in Experiment 3 could postpone timeouts from delivery of pellets that differed in quality rather than quantity (unsweetened versus sweetened pellets). In general, response rates and success in avoiding increased as a function of the rate and quality of the pellets. Also, performance efficiency increased as the experiments progressed, that is, the avoidance response occurred later and later in the response-timeout interval. The results support the conclusion that timeout from reinforcement has functional properties similar to those of more commonly studied aversive stimuli (e.g., shock).
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