Abstract
Four experiments with rats tested their ability to anticipate serial patterns made from elements of reward magnitudes (14, 7, 3, 1, or 0 food pellets). Anticipation was measured by the running time in a straight alley. Elements arranged in a monotonically descending pattern were more easily anticipated than were the same elements arranged in a nonmonotonic pattern. Better anticipation was also observed when training utilized four trials per day with short interrun intervals (10–15 sec), spent in the startbox of the runway, than when training utilized one trial per day with long interrun intervals (4–5 min), spent in the rat’s home cage. Anticipation of the monotonie sequence was also superior when training consisted of one trial per day with a short interrun interval relative to that observed with four trials per day and a long interrun interval. Following acquisition of anticipation of the monotonie sequence with a short interrun interval, transfer to the same sequence with a long interrun interval resulted in disruption of anticipation. Finally, anticipation of a well-learned monotonie sequence was not disrupted by replacement of individual rewarded elements in the sequence with a 0-pellet element. These experiments indicate that the duration between runs of a trial, but not that between trials or the number of trials per day, is important in the formation of serial expectancies. They also suggest that the rats come to represent the sequence as items in serial position.
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This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS 82-03017 and National Institute of Mental Health Grant 1-R01-MH37070.
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Roitblat, H.L., Pologe, B. & Scopatz, R.A. The representation of items in serial position. Animal Learning & Behavior 11, 489–498 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199806
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199806