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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1973 May;19(3):459–468. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1973.19-459

Behavioral aftereffects of reinforcement and its omission as a function of reinforcement magnitude1

Craig Jensen, Daniel Fallon
PMCID: PMC1334141  PMID: 16811676

Abstract

Rats responded on a multiple fixed-interval fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement. Each complete cycle of the multiple schedule was separated from the next by a relatively long period of timeout from all schedule contingencies. A response at the end of the second component of each cycle was always reinforced with an invariant reinforcement magnitude, while reinforcement magnitude and reinforcement omission were systematically varied in the first component. Response rate in the first component was a monotonic function of reinforcement magnitude in that component. These changes in response rate in the first component did not affect response rate in the second component. When reinforcement was omitted on 50% of occasions in the first component, following reinforcement there was a reduction in response rate in the second component that was monotonically related to reinforcement magnitude. Following reinforcement omission there was an increase in response rate in the second component that was unrelated to reinforcement magnitude. When reinforcement was omitted on 100% of occasions in the first component, behavioral contrast was observed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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