Abstract
Two experiments were carried out to determine the effect of 20-sec. delay of reinforcement on 0, 33, 67, 100% of runway trials and 20-sec. confinement in the delay box on 0, 33, 67, and 100% of the extinction trials. Experiment I (N=76 rats) had 72 training and 30 extinction trials with 1 trial per day; Experiment II (N=47) had the same numbers of trials but 6 trials per day. A control group had 33% delay trials in a single block. The 100% delay group was significantly slower in training. The group with 67% delay in training ran the fastest in extinction. Running speed in extinction was inversely related to percentage of confinement in extinction. Shifts to higher percentages of confinement in extinction led to faster extinction; shifts to lower percentages of confinement led to slower extinction. The results, which were similar in the two experiments, were related to previous studies and discussed in terms of cognitive dissonance theory and a relativistic conception of reward.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ANDERSON, N. H. 1963. Comparison of different populations: Resistance to extinction and transfer. Psychol. Rev., 70, 162–179.
CAPALDI, E. J., & POYNOR, H. B. 1965. Nonreward confinement duration: The complement of reward magnitude. Psychonom. Sci., 3, 515–516.
CRUM, J., BROWN, W. L., & BITTERMAN, M. E. 1951. The effect of partial and delayed reinforcement on resistance to extinction. Amer. J. Psychol., 64, 228–237.
EDWARDS, A. L. 1960. Experimental design in psychological research. New York: Rinehart (Rev. ed.)
HALL, J. F. 1966. The psychology of learning. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
RENNER, K. E. 1964. Delay of reinforcement: A historical review. Psychol. Bull., 61, 341–361.
SCHOONARD, J., & LAWRENCE, D. H. 1962. Resistance to extinction as a function of the number of delay of reward trials. Psychol. Rep., 11, 275–278.
SCOTT, E. D., & WIKE, E. L. 1956. The effect of partially delayed reinforcement and trial-distribution on the extinction of an instrumental response. Amer. J. Psychol., 69, 264–268.
SGRO, J. A., DYAL, J. A., & ANASTASIO, E. J. 1967. Effects of constant delay of reinforcement on acquisition asymptote and resistance to extinction. J. exp. Psychol., 73, 634–636.
TOMBAUGH, T. N. 1966. Resistance to extinction as a function of the interaction between training and extinction delays. Psychol. Rep., 19, 791–798.
WEINSTOCK, S. N. 1954. Resistance to extinction of a running response following partial reinforcement under widely spaced trials. J. comp. physiol. Psychol., 47, 318–322.
WEINSTOCK, S. N. 1958. Acquisition and extinction of a partially reinforced running response at a 24-hour intertrial interval. J. exp. Psychol., 56, 151–158.
WIKE, E. L., & McNAMARA, H. J. 1957. The effects of percentage of partially delayed reinforcement on the acquisition and extinction of an instrumental response. J. comp. physiol. Psychol., 50, 348–351.
WIKE, E. L., PLATT, J. R., & PARKER, L. 1965. Patterns of delayed reinforcement and resistance to extinction. Psychonom. Sci., 3, 13–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research was supported by a grant GB 4299 from the National Science Foundation. We wish to thank Allen Powell for assistance in running some of the animals.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wike, E.L., Mellgren, R.L. & Wike, S.S. Runway Performance as a Function of Delayed Reinforcement and Delay-Box Confinement. Psychol Rec 18, 9–18 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393734
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393734