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VARIABLE‐INTERVAL SCHEDULES OF TIMEOUT FROM AVOIDANCE
Author(s) -
Perone Michael,
Galizio Mark
Publication year - 1987
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.1987.47-97
Subject(s) - timeout , reinforcement , schedule , psychology , lever , computer science , social psychology , engineering , computer network , mechanical engineering , operating system
Rats were trained on concurrent schedules in which pressing one lever postponed shock and pressing the other occasionally produced a 2‐min timeout during which the shock‐postponement schedule was suspended and its correlated stimuli were removed. Throughout, the shock‐postponement schedule maintained proficient levels of avoidance. Nevertheless, in Experiment 1 responding on the timeout lever was established rapidly, was maintained at stable levels on variable‐interval schedules, was extinguished by withholding timeout, was reestablished when timeout was reintroduced, and was brought under discriminative control with a multiple variable‐interval extinction schedule of timeout. These results are in contrast with Verhave's (1962) conclusion that timeout is an ineffective reinforcer when presented to rats on intermittent schedules. In Experiment 2 the consequence of responding on the timeout lever was altered so that the shock‐postponement schedule remained in effect even though the stimulus conditions associated with timeout were produced for 2 min. Responding extinguished, indicating that suspension of the shock‐postponement schedule, not stimulus change, was the source of reinforcement. By establishing the reinforcing efficacy of timeout with standard variable‐interval schedules, these experiments illustrate a procedure for studying negative reinforcement in the same way as positive reinforcement.