Abstract
Rats on an eight-arm radial maze chose between four arms on which a small reward could be obtained after a short delay and four arms on which a larger reward could be obtained after a longer delay. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that rats preferred the long-delay, large-reward arms over the short-delay, small-reward arms. This preference was particularly marked when the arms were made into enclosed alleys. Experiment 3 showed that this effect was not produced by a preference for staying in enclosed alleys. We argue that the rats endured longer delays to obtain larger rewards when fear of predation was minimized.
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Support for this research was provided by a discovery grant to W.A.R. from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Note—This article was accepted by the previous editorial team, when Shepard Siegel was Editor.
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Feeney, M.C., Roberts, W.A. Rats show preference for delayed rewards on the radial maze. Learning & Behavior 36, 42–54 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.36.1.42
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.36.1.42