RESPONSE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE WITH A TEMPORALLY DEFINED SCHEDULE OF DELAYED REINFORCEMENT
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Abstract
The acquisition and subsequent maintenance of lever pressing by rats was examined using a time-based variable delay-of- reinforcement schedule. Holding 1 cycle length constant at 64s, nominal delays of reinforcement of either 8 s, 16s, 32 s, 48 s, or 56s were generated by two different tD placements, either early or late within the 1 cycle. Three rats each were assigned to a combination of nominal delay and t~ placement. Response ratas were a decreasing function of lengthening nominal delay regardless of tD placement. For any given nominal reinforcement delay, response ratas were higher under the late than under the early t~ placement. These results extend the generality of response acquisition with delayed reinforcement to temporally defined schedules. ln addition, the results suggest that delay-of-reinforcement gradients can be obtained under constant reinforcement ratas. The results also suggest a critical role for the reinforcement-producing response in determining the effects of delayed reinforcement.