Using rats and pigeons as subjects, the effects of varying amounts of reinforcement on the rate and temporal patterns of interim and terminal behaviors engendered by periodic feeding schedules were assessed in three experiments. (Author/KC)

This article demonstrated that equations derived from Herrnstein's matching law can make quantitative predictions for many of the effects David Premack has studied on the relative nature of reinforcement. (Author/RK)

While responses permitting no change in location are learned very slowly, responses that allow unambiguous flight from a dangerous location are learned very rapidly. Two experiments examine the possible reinforcing properties of the flight response in avoidance acquisition. (Author/RK)

A general hypothesis of associative learning should be based on the broadest possible foundation of empirical evidence, including confirmation in both aversive and appetitive situations. For this reason the present experiment was designed to test the surprise hypothesis using a procedure in which the unconditioned stimulus was the presentation of…

There has been considerable interest lately in cases where instrumental conditionability appears to depend on the reinforcer used. Here the effects of Pavlovian conditioned stimuli (CSs)on golden hamster behaviors was observed. The intent was to see whether previously reported differences among the behaviors produced by food reinforcement and…

Three experiments, employing conditioned suppression in rats, examined the extent to which pretraining on one element of a compound stimulus blocked conditioning to the other element when some feature of the reinforcer was changed on compound trials. (Editor)

Stimulus analyzer theory as proposed by Sutherland and Mackintosh (1971) makes the unique prediction that the first-experienced reinforcement schedule will influence resistance to extinction more than subsequent schedules. Results presently reported of runaway acquisition and extinction indicate the opposite: C-P consistently produce substantially…

Given an opportunity to choose between an immediate, small reward and a delayed, large reward, pigeons may commit themselves to the large reward, but if the choice is encountered they will almost always select the immediate, small reward. This study tested a model, developed by H. Rachlin and his co-workers, concerning some general theories of…

These experiments attempt to optimize the possibility of demonstrating blocking in a taste-aversion paradigm and to elucidate the conditions under which this interference occurs. (Author/RK)

Investigates the nature of the rhythmic process mediating multiple retention deficits in rats, i.e., whether it was induced by a training procedure or based on a pre-existing physiological rhythm. Also concerns the mechanism of the rhythm's effect on retention performance, whether it affects performance factors per se or the retrieval of prior…