LATIES V G, WEISS B, CLARK R L, REYNOLDS M D
J Exp Anal Behav. 1965 Mar;8(2):107-16. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1965.8-107.
A rat was trained on a schedule that programmed reinforcements only when a minimum waiting time between successive responses was exceeded (DRL schedule). It was observed to fill much of the pause between lever presses with a stereotyped behavioral chain: it would take its tail in its mouth and nibble it. This behavior was shown to be functionally related to the efficiency with which the subject spaced its responses. It is thought to have served as mediating behavior, providing discriminating stimuli for appropriate lever presses.
一只大鼠按照一种程序进行训练,该程序仅在连续反应之间的最短等待时间被超过时才安排强化(差异强化低反应率程序)。观察到它在杠杆按压之间的大部分停顿时间里都表现出一种刻板的行为链:它会用嘴叼住自己的尾巴并啃咬。这种行为被证明在功能上与实验对象间隔反应的效率有关。人们认为它起到了中介行为的作用,为适当的杠杆按压提供辨别性刺激。