Within-Session Response Patterns during Variable Interval, Random Reinforcement, and Extinction Procedures

Pigeons (Experiment 1) and rats (Experiment 2) responded on variable interval (VI), variable time (VT), and extinction procedures. All three procedures were conducted for three different baseline rates of reinforcement. When the rates of reinforcement obtained from the VI and VT schedules did not di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Learning and motivation 1999-08, Vol.30 (3), p.221-240
Main Authors: McSweeney, Frances K., Swindell, Samantha, Weatherly, Jeffrey N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Birds
Extinction
Responses
Rodents
Variables
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Summary:Pigeons (Experiment 1) and rats (Experiment 2) responded on variable interval (VI), variable time (VT), and extinction procedures. All three procedures were conducted for three different baseline rates of reinforcement. When the rates of reinforcement obtained from the VI and VT schedules did not differ significantly, the within-session patterns of responding observed on the two procedures did not differ. Both of these patterns differed from the patterns observed during extinction. These results are consistent with the argument that sensitization–habituation contributes to within-session patterns of responding during both conditioning and extinction and that subjects may sensitize and habituate to contextual stimuli as well as to reinforcers. The results help to explain why spontaneous recovery is not always observed during random reinforcement procedures. They also suggest that the factors governing within-session patterns of responding are independent of the factors governing absolute response rates.
ISSN:0023-9690
1095-9122
DOI:10.1006/lmot.1999.1032