Abstract
Rats were tested on various fixed-interval (FI) barpress reinforcement schedules with each subject receiving dry food pellets of differing composition. Water was always available in both the test chamber and the home cage. Subjects’ water intakes in the experimental chamber increased essentially monotonically as FI values were increased from 2 to 90 sec; beyond 120 sec, all subjects showed decreased water intakes. Pellet composition affected (1) the rate of development and the maintenance of polydipsia, (2) the number of barpress responses, and (3) the amount of water consumed at each FI value. The possible aversive nature of the absence of sugar in dry-food reinforcement is discussed and interpreted as suggesting a motivational analysis of schedule-induced polydipsia.
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Walter P. Christian is presently at Behavior Science Division, CARIH: National Asthma Center, 1999 Julian Street, Denver, Colorado 80204.
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Christian, W.P., Schaeffer, R.W. Motivational properties of fixed-interval reinforcement: A preliminary investigation. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 5, 143–145 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333228
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333228