Abstract
In order to evaluate superstition and thirst explanations of psychogenic polydipsia, thirsty rats were allowed water from a burette in a test box. Later, when hungry, they were given food pellets on a 90-sec free fixed-interval schedule (FFI). This procedure was followed during daily 3-h sessions for 14 days, water being available in the home cage but not in the test box. They were then subjected to the same schedule but with water available during sessions. Their behavior with water available was compared to that of a control group which had not received the pretraining without water. The group which had been pretrained showed a retardation in their acquisition of polydipsia.
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This work was carried out while the author was supported by a grant from the SRC.
I am very grateful to Dr. K. Oatley for his supervision of and assistance in this project.
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Toates, F.M. The effect of pretraining on schedule induced polydipsia. Psychon Sci 23, 219–220 (1971). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336085
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336085