Graduate Theses

Date of Award

5-1985

Document Type

Research Project Report

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Supervisory Committee Chair

J. Greenspan, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Robert C. Rhodes, Ph.D.

Abstract

The effect on response rates during extinction of interpolating varying numbers of continuous reinforcement sessions after seven fixed ratio-25 sessions was investigated. Rats received either seven, fourteen, or twenty-one sessions of continuous reinforcement. All rats then received seven sessions of extinction. There were three rats in each group. All sessions were thirty minutes long. The results showed rats receiving the CRF schedule for fourteen sessions make the most responses during extinction. Rats receiving the CRF schedule for fourteen sessions make the most responses during extinction. Rats receiving the CRF schedule for twenty-one sessions made fewer responses during extinction. Taken alone the results for these two groups are supportive of the hypothesis that increased numbers of CRF sessions interpolated between intermittent reinforcement schedules and extinction are followed by reduced resistance to extinction. Taken alone the results for these two groups are supportive of the hypothesis that increased numbers of CRF sessions interpolated between intermittent reinforcement schedules and extinction are followed by reduced resistance to extinction. The rats receiving the CRF schedule for seven days made fewest total responses during extinction. This group was emitting sharply higher responses than the other groups during sessions five and six of the seven extinction sessions. The data for this group suggest that the amount of partial reinforcement received during training sessions may be an important factor which should receive more attention.

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