Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

598
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
598
Reinforcement Schedules01:24

Reinforcement Schedules

671
Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for teaching new behaviors to both animals and humans. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments using rats in a Skinner box. When a rat pressed a lever, it received a food pellet. This immediate reward encouraged the rat to repeat the behavior. This method, where a reward follows every instance of the behavior, is known as continuous reinforcement. It is highly effective for establishing new behaviors quickly.
Once a behavior is learned,...
671
Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction01:24

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

1.7K
Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...
1.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Asymmetric effects of signal intensity on timing behavior in the peak-interval procedure.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2026
Same author

Effects of effort sequence and type of consequence in an effort discounting task.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same author

Genetic background and reversal learning: differences in behavioral flexibility between CD1 and C57BL/6 strains in the mid-session reversal task.

Physiology & behavior·2025
Same author

Comparison of convergent and independent pathways in neural networks during second-order conditioning and blocking procedures.

Journal of experimental psychology. Animal learning and cognition·2025
Same author

YEAB: YEAB Ease the analysis of behavior.

Behavior research methods·2025
Same author

DDM-UI: A user interface in R for the discrepancy diffuse model in behavioral research.

Behavior research methods·2025
Same journal

Sex and brain maturation underlie the attribution of incentive salience to conditioned stimuli in Wistar rats.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Shining a light on jellyfish behaviour: Enhanced motor activity and positive phototaxis in Aurelia coerulea.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Detour-task performance in color polymorphic male mosquitofish.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Behavioral and physiological changes during the estrous cycle of socially housed female guinea pigs.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Flexible time-series analysis: A dynamically aware method for inferring directed dependencies in behavioral data.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Effects of group size and landmarks on escape behavior of three fish species.

Behavioural processes·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 17, 2026

The Power of Interstimulus Interval for the Assessment of Temporal Processing in Rodents
10:27

The Power of Interstimulus Interval for the Assessment of Temporal Processing in Rodents

Published on: April 19, 2019

7.4K

Temporal discrimination and delayed reinforcement.

Jonathan Buriticá1, Zirahuén Vilchez1, Cristiano Valerio Dos Santos1

  • 1CEIC, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.

Behavioural Processes
|July 20, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Delayed reinforcement impairs time discrimination in rats, making it harder to distinguish between durations. This effect on interval timing suggests a difficulty in discrimination rather than altered time perception.

Keywords:
Delay of reinforcementRatsReinforcement valueTemporal bisectionTiming

More Related Videos

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.2K
An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

12.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 17, 2026

The Power of Interstimulus Interval for the Assessment of Temporal Processing in Rodents
10:27

The Power of Interstimulus Interval for the Assessment of Temporal Processing in Rodents

Published on: April 19, 2019

7.4K
The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.2K
An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

12.9K

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral neuroscience
  • Animal cognition

Background:

  • Reinforcement timing is crucial for learning and behavior.
  • Understanding how delays affect temporal processing is key to cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of delayed reinforcement on time discrimination in rats.
  • To analyze effects on interval timing and stimulus control.

Main Methods:

  • An interval bisection task was used with three groups of rats.
  • Groups received immediate, delayed, or longer signals with immediate reinforcement.
  • Acquisition and test phases were conducted.

Main Results:

  • Delayed reinforcement required more training for acquisition.
  • Differences were observed in the Weber fraction and stimulus control.
  • Delayed reinforcement led to increased difficulty in discriminating durations.

Conclusions:

  • Delayed reinforcement negatively impacts time discrimination accuracy.
  • The primary effect is on the ability to discriminate durations, not on the estimation of time itself.