Abstract
Fox (1972) found that separate-phase shifts in N-length produced changes in postshift performance similar to contrast effects. The study, however, confounded shifts in N-length and in reward percentage. In the present study N-length shifts produced changes in postshift performance only when attended by reward percentage shifts but not in isolation. Extinction was not influenced by N-length shift either in isolation or in combination with reward percentage shift. However, training with constant N-lengths of three produced more resistance to extinction than constant training with N-lengths of one. The results were viewed to be at variance with a reward-level/sequential model (Capaldi, Note 1), but consonant with an emphasis on the role of frustrative stimulus control.
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This research was supported by National Research Council of Canada Grant A9941 to the first author.
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Dyck, D.G., Dresel, K.M., Thiessen, R.B. et al. Extinction following separate-phase acquisition: Effects of shifts in reinforcement percentage and N-length. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 10, 439–442 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337691
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337691