Abstract
The choice strategies of rat pups between 12 and 21 days of age were studied in a two-choice discrimination procedure that used access to a nonlactating anesthetized dam as a reward. After receiving a reward (win) or not receiving a reward (lose), a pup repeated a previous choice (stay) or made an alternative response (shift). At 12 and 15 days of age, pups demonstrated neither a stay nor a shift response strategy; at 18 and 21 days of age, pups had a robust tendency to shift. Winning or losing did not alter behavior until 21 days of age, at which point winning produced a greater tendency to return to the initially visited location for rats in the stay condition.
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This research was conducted during sabbatical leave granted to the first author from Westminster College, which also generously supported the manuscript preparation. Funding for the experiment was provided by NIMH Research Grant MH 24213, awarded to D. Olton.
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Gittis, A.G., Stark, H., Arnold, C. et al. Emergence of choice strategies in the rat: Shift-stay differentiation precedes win-lose differentiation. Animal Learning & Behavior 16, 15–18 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209038
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209038