Resistance to variable-time schedules produced by spaced-response reinforcement schedules

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Animal behavior studies

Background:

• Previous research suggests variable-time (VT) schedules of reinforcement can lead to resistance to change.
• Understanding how different reinforcement schedules influence response patterns is crucial in behavioral psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedules on subsequent behavior under VT schedules in rats.
• To determine if unsignaled variable delays of reinforcement are necessary for resistance to response-independent reinforcement.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted using rats.
• Experiment 1: Rats exposed to a tandem fixed-ratio 1 differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 10 sec (tand FR1 DRL 10) schedule.
• Experiment 2: Rats exposed to a DRL 10 sec schedule, followed by exposure to a variable-time (VT) schedule in both experiments.

Main Results:

• The VT schedule led to less efficient responding in both experiments.
• Response decrement during the VT phase was not consistent across all rats.
• Interresponse time (IRT) distributions in Experiment 2 indicated that the VT schedule altered response patterns.

Conclusions:

• Unsignaled variable delay of reinforcement is sufficient, but not necessary, for producing resistance to response-independent reinforcement.
• A response competition model may offer a valid explanation for the observed experimental outcomes.