Abstract
A schedule of reinforcement was used in which reinforcement was delivered to only those responses with associated interresponse times (IRTs) falling within a prescribed temporal interval. For each of three different groups of rats, a different value was used for the lower bound of the reinforcement interval. In all cases, the width of the interval was equal to the lower bound. This schedule was put into effect following regular reinforcement of all IRTs. The probability of short IRTs, and the mode and interquartile range of the IRT distributions were computed as a function of the number of sessions exposure to the IRT reinforcement schedule.
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Cumming, W. W., & Schoenfeld, W. N. Behavior stability under extended exposure to a time-correlated reinforcement contingency. J. exp. Anal. Behav., 1960, 3, 71–82.
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Malott, R. W., & Cumming, W. W. Schedules of interresponse time reinforcement. Psychol. Rec, 1964, 14, 211–252.
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This research was supported by Public Health Service Grant MH-06911-01.
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Malott, R.W., Cumming, W.W. Interresponse time reinforcement: Transition and steady states. Psychon Sci 2, 257–258 (1965). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03343436
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03343436