Abstract
Contrast in consummatory behavior was investigated following repeated shifts from 32% to 4% sucrose. In Experiment 1, contrast in licking and in open-field measures of activity occurred following the second and third downshifts. In Experiments 2a and 2b, equivalent contrast effects occurred following the first and second downshifts in sucrose. In Experiment 3, negative contrast remained unabated following nine downshifts in animals shifted between 32% and 4% sucrose on alternate days. Similar results were found for five downshifts in animals shifted every 2 days. In both of these latter conditions, positive contrast occurred over the first few shifts and was then lost as the 32% control group reached asymptote. These data show that repeated negative contrast effects in consummatory behavior are robust and enduring and occur under several different sets of experimental parameters. The results are discussed in terms of reinforcement level and emotional interpretations of contrast effects, and the possibility was suggested that the causal mechanism of contrast changes with repeated shifts.
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Flaherty, C. F., Driscoll, C., & Checke, S.A comparison of the effects of several drugs on successive contrast. Paper presented to the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New Haven, 1980.
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This research was supported by a grant from the Rutgers University Research Council.
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Flaherty, C.F., Becker, H.C. & Checke, S. Repeated successive contrast in consummatory behavior with repeated shifts in sucrose concentration. Animal Learning & Behavior 11, 407–414 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199795
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199795