Richardson Joseph V, Baron Alan
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA.
J Exp Anal Behav. 2008 Mar;89(2):169-81. doi: 10.1901/jeab.2008.89-169.
In three experiments, a rat's lever presses could postpone timeouts from food pellets delivered on response-independent schedules. In Experiment 1, the pellets were delivered at variable-time (VT) rates ranging from VT 0.5 to VT 8 min. Experiment 2 replicated the VT 1 min and VT 8 min conditions of Experiment 1 with new subjects. Finally, subjects in Experiment 3 could postpone timeouts from delivery of pellets that differed in quality rather than quantity (unsweetened versus sweetened pellets). In general, response rates and success in avoiding increased as a function of the rate and quality of the pellets. Also, performance efficiency increased as the experiments progressed, that is, the avoidance response occurred later and later in the response-timeout interval. The results support the conclusion that timeout from reinforcement has functional properties similar to those of more commonly studied aversive stimuli (e.g., shock).
在三个实验中，大鼠按压杠杆可以推迟按非反应依赖时间表投递食丸时的暂停时间。在实验1中，食丸以从VT 0.5分钟到VT 8分钟的可变时距（VT）速率投递。实验2用新的实验对象重复了实验1中的VT 1分钟和VT 8分钟条件。最后，实验3中的实验对象可以推迟因投递质量而非数量不同的食丸（无糖食丸与加糖食丸）而产生的暂停时间。总体而言，反应速率以及避免增加的成功率随着食丸的速率和质量而增加。此外，随着实验的进行，表现效率有所提高，也就是说，回避反应在反应-暂停间隔中出现得越来越晚。这些结果支持了这样的结论：强化暂停具有与更常研究的厌恶性刺激（如电击）相似的功能特性。
