Sensitization-Habituation May Occur During Operant Conditioning

Operant response rates often change within experimental sessions, sometimes increasing and then decreasing. The authors attribute these changes to sensitization and habituation to aspects of the experimental situation presented repeatedly (e.g., reinforcers) or for a prolonged time (e.g., the experi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological bulletin 1996-09, Vol.120 (2), p.256-271
Main Authors: McSweeney, Frances K, Hinson, John M, Cannon, Cari B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animals
Factors
Habituation
Habituation-Sensitization
Individuals
Operant Conditioning
Psychology
Response Frequency
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Summary:Operant response rates often change within experimental sessions, sometimes increasing and then decreasing. The authors attribute these changes to sensitization and habituation to aspects of the experimental situation presented repeatedly (e.g., reinforcers) or for a prolonged time (e.g., the experimental enclosure). They describe several empirical similarities between sensitization-habituation and within-session changes in operant responding. They argue that many alternative explanations for within-session changes in operant responding can be dismissed. They also examine some implications of linking the literatures on habituation and operant responding. Because responding follows a similar pattern in several other cases (e.g., human vigilance, classical conditioning, and unconditioned responding), 2 relatively simple processes may be responsible for the temporal patterning of behavior in a wide variety of situations.
ISSN:0033-2909
1939-1455
DOI:10.1037/0033-2909.120.2.256