Parametrical Effects of Delayed Reinforcement on the Responding of Rats Exposed to Variable Interval and Variable Ratio Schedules

Authors

  • Cristina Moreira Fonseca Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de São Paulo
  • Gerson Yukio Tomanari Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v13i2.14646

Keywords:

delay of reinforcement, schedules of reinforcement, variable interval, variable ratio, rats

Abstract

This study examined the effects of introducing different delays of reinforcement on the rate of lever pressing by eight rats under variable interval and variable ratio schedules (VI and VR, respectively). Following baseline conditions under immediate reinforcement, unsignaled and non-resetting delays of reinforcement were introduced upon each of these schedules. In different conditions, delays of 2 s, 5 s and 8 s were presented in both increasing and decreasing sequences. The results showed negative correlations between rate of responding and delay of reinforcement for most subjects and delays. By analyzing the frequency distribution of the delays actually obtained in each single reinforcer delivery, it was possible to verify a higher concentration of 0.5-s delays when a 2-s delay was programmed. In contrast, actual delays concentrated around 5 s and 8 s when the programmed delays were 5 s and 8 s, respectively. Such differential effects generated by the delays of reinforcement on responding can be understood by analyzing how the delay affected the ongoing contingencies in each particular schedule.

                                                                 

Keywords: delay of reinforcement; schedules of reinforcement; variable interval; variable ratio; rats.

Author Biography

Gerson Yukio Tomanari, Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de São Paulo

Departamento de Psicologia Experimental

Processos Psicológicos Básicos

Análise Experimental do Comportamento

Downloads

How to Cite

Fonseca, C. M., & Tomanari, G. Y. (2009). Parametrical Effects of Delayed Reinforcement on the Responding of Rats Exposed to Variable Interval and Variable Ratio Schedules. Interação Em Psicologia, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.5380/psi.v13i2.14646

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2009)

Section

Articles

License

The approval of articles implies the immediate acceptance, with no imposition, that the journal Interação em Psicologia will have the exclusivity of the first publication of the article. The authors will, notwithstanding, keep the copyrights for future publications. In case of republication of the articles in other media, it is demanded the mention to the first publication in the journal Interação em Psicologia. The authors also authorize their articles to be available in all the indexes of which the journal is included. 

The Editorial Board is not responsible for the concepts or statements expressed in the published works, which are the sole responsibility of their authors.

The journal Interação em Psicologia offers immediate open access to all its content, following the rationale that offering gratuitous scientific knowledge to the public promotes the democracy of knowledge and published works tend to produce higher impact. The published articles in the journal are available under the Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). According to this license, the access, distribution, reusing of the articles for non-commercial sources are allowed, provided that the authors and the source is referenced. When submitting articles to the journal Interação em Psicologia, authors agree with making their texts legally available based on this license.