Date of Award
5-1-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Psychological Science, MS
First Advisor
Kristin Biondolillo
Committee Members
Gary Yarbrough; Heloisa Campos; Jessica Curtis
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2018 R63
Abstract
Current research in the area of operant variability suggests that response variability can be controlled by operant reinforcement; however, there have been few studies of variation in timing of responses. To investigate the latter phenomenon, five female Wistar rats were exposed to a series of contingencies in which subjects were required to vary the times between lever press responses in order to obtain reinforcement. After a baseline condition, rats were exposed to three increasingly demanding variability contingencies with a return to baseline following each, and finally a comparison phase in which reinforcement probability was limited. It was predicted that subjects would vary sequences of responses as a function of variability contingency. The results of the study supported this hypothesis, with high levels of interresponse time variability observed, particularly in the most stringent variability contingency. These results support the notion that reinforcement can control variability in the timing of operant responding.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Jarod Clark, "The Impact of Reinforcement Contingency on Interresponse Time Variability in Rats" (2018). Student Theses and Dissertations. 524.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/524
