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Updated: May 30, 2026
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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
The effects of reward quality on risk-sensitivity in Rattus norvegicus
Baine B Craft1, Anna C Church, Caitlyn M Rohrbach
1Department of Psychology and Biology, Seattle Pacific University, WA 98119, USA. craftb@spu.edu
Behavioural Processes
|August 2, 2011
Summary
Mammals
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Risk-sensitive foraging theory (RSFT) explains choices between variable and constant rewards.
- Daily energy budget (DEB) rule suggests reward quality influences risk-sensitivity.
- Limited research exists on reward quality's impact on mammalian risk-sensitivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how reward quality affects risk-sensitivity in mammals.
- To test predictions of the DEB rule by manipulating caloric return.
- To control for reward magnitude, delay, body mass, and effort.
Main Methods:
- Subjects were presented with choices between variable and constant food rewards.
- Reward quality was manipulated using high-calorie (sugar) versus low-calorie (grain) options.
- Risk-sensitivity was measured by the proportion of choices for the variable option.
Main Results:
- Subjects chose the variable option significantly less often when rewarded with high-calorie sugar compared to low-calorie grain.
- This finding supports the DEB rule's prediction that caloric return influences risk-sensitivity.
- Reward quality demonstrably impacts risk-sensitivity in mammals.
Conclusions:
- Reward quality is a significant factor influencing risk-sensitive foraging behavior in mammals.
- Findings align with the DEB rule, extending RSFT literature.
- Future research should explore flavor and caloric return interactions in risk-sensitivity.
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