Abstract
In a series of three experiments, groups of food-deprived and water-deprived rats were given pairings of a retractable lever (CS+) with response-independent deliveries of either solid or liquid reinforcers. In Experiment 1 food-deprived rats given a solid-pellet reinforcer differentially tended to sniff, paw, mouth, and bite the CS+ lever more often than a lever that was not paired with food (CS−), whereas food-deprived rats given a liquid reinforcer tended to differentially sniff, paw, and lick the CS+ lever. 23½-hour water-deprived rats given liquid reinforcers showed very little CS+ contact. In Experiment 2 increasing the severity of water deprivation from 23½ to 47½ hours significantly increased CS+ contact. In Experiment 3, subjects that were simultaneously food and water deprived and given a water reinforcer failed to exhibit differential CS+ contact, but subjects that were simultaneously food and water deprived and given a food reinforcer did acquire differential CS+-contact behavior. These results suggest that (a) even under a single motivational state the nature of signal-centered behavior can be determined by type of reinforcer, (b) although water reinforcement produces less signal contact than food reinforcement, this can be facilitated with more severe water-deprivation levels, and (c) high CS-contact rates using food reinforcement are not simply a product of reductions in body weight with food deprivation.
Keywords: autoshaping, sign-tracking, response topography, reinforcer type, deprivation state, rats
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Selected References
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