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SUPPRESSION OF OPERANT BEHAVIOR AND SCHEDULE‐INDUCED LICKING IN RATS 1
Author(s) -
Bond N. W.,
Blackman D. E.,
Scruton Pamela
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1973.20-375
Subject(s) - licking , operant conditioning , schedule , psychology , animal behavior , computer science , reinforcement , medicine , social psychology , biology , endocrinology , zoology , operating system
The first experiment studied the effects of punishment on rats' lever pressing maintained by a fixed‐interval schedule of food reinforcement and on the associated schedule‐induced licking. When licking was followed by shock, licking was suppressed but lever pressing was largely unaffected. When lever pressing was followed by shock, lever pressing was suppressed but licking was unaffected. In both cases, the punished behavior recovered its previous unpunished level when the shocks were discontinued. In a second experiment, the rats' lever pressing was maintained by a variable‐interval schedule of food reinforcement under which polydipsic licking also developed. Both lever pressing and licking were partially suppressed during a stimulus correlated with occasional unavoidable electric shocks. With a higher shock intensity, both behaviors were suppressed further. Both lever pressing and licking recovered their previous levels when shocks were discontinued. These results show that schedule‐induced licking, which has been described as adjunctive behavior, can be suppressed by procedures that suppress reinforced lever pressing, an operant behavior.