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Instrumental learning for a thermal reinforcer in 1‐day‐old rats
Author(s) -
Flory Graham S.,
Langley Cynthia M.,
Pfister John F.,
Alberts Jeffrey R.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199701)30:1<41::aid-dev4>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - psychology , reinforcement , contingency , developmental psychology , animal learning , stimulus (psychology) , operant conditioning , cognitive psychology , contingency management , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , psychiatry , intervention (counseling)
One‐day‐old rats in a cool environment (25°C) quickly acquired an instrumental response when rewarded with a 20‐s warming of the platform (from 25°C to 36°C) on which they lay. The instrumental response, turning the head to one side, was learned within 30 min after the thermal contingency began and extinguished when the contingency was reversed. This experiment demonstrates rapid operant learning by neonates in a task that does not contain a Pavlovian stimulus‐reinforcer contingency. The novel experimental method has wide applicability in psychology and neuroscience. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 30 : 41–47, 1997