Perseveration of the Partial Reinforcement Effect in Extinction with Rats over Two Phases of Extinction and Two Stages of Continuous Reinforcement

2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Calef ◽  
Michael C. Choban ◽  
Katherine R. Glenney ◽  
Ruth A. Calef ◽  
Erik Schmitt ◽  
...  

One group of 10 male albino rats was given partial reinforcement while the other 10 rats received continuous reinforcement in a straight alley. Subjects then experienced five consecutive stages of Extinction 1, Continuous Reinforcement 1, Extinction 2, Continuous Reinforcement 2, and finally, Extinction 3. Analysis showed the partial reinforcement effect in extinction was sustained over two stages of extinction and two stages of continuous reinforcement, since subjects receiving partial reinforcement ran faster than rats given continuous reinforcement throughout all three of the extinction periods. The results seem to support those of Amsel's (1967) and Capaldi's (1967) theoretical formulations of the partial reinforcement effect in extinction.

1970 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-885
Author(s):  
William P. Dunlap ◽  
Lawrence Dachowski

40 albino rats were assigned randomly to the cells of a 2 × 2 factorial design consisting of per cent reinforcement (50% and 100%) by deprivation (high and low). Speed measures were obtained from two segments of a straight-alley runway for 80 acquisition and 56 extinction trials with 4 trials given per day. Deprivation effects were found over the closely spaced trials within daily sessions for both acquisition and extinction. In extinction the interaction of drive and per cent reinforcement within daily sessions lends support to a frustration-theory explanation of extinction behavior. The lack of deprivation-produced differences in the size of the partial reinforcement effect over days is also consistent with this explanation.


1972 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Prytula ◽  
Cecil C. Bridges ◽  
H. R. Anderson ◽  
Larry C. Hayes

4 groups ( ns = 10) of albino rats were given 40 acquisition and 25 extinction trials in a straight runway under one of the following conditions: (1) continuous reinforcement with an exhaust fan operative; (2) continuous reinforcement with exhaust fan operating but blocked from exhausting; (3) partial reinforcement with exhaust fan operating but blocked, and (4) partial reinforcement with exhaust fan operative. The results imply that exhausting odor(s) under a partial schedule increases running speeds during acquisition and resistance to extinction. The study points to important methodological implications for partial reinforcement research.


1969 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvin J. North

Two groups of 20 male albino rats were given either 32 rewarded placements (Group E) in a distinctive placement box (PB) or 32 non-rewarded placements (Group C). In the training phase both groups were given two placement trials per day for 20 days. One of these daily placements was non-rewarded (a “frustration treatment” for Group E Ss) and was immediately followed by a rewarded run in a runway. The other placement, not followed by a run, was rewarded for Group E Ss and non-rewarded for Group C Ss. Following a 5-trial transition phase with rewarded runs only, both groups were given 40 extinction runs (without prior placements). The acquisition and transition phase runway performances of the two groups were very similar, but Group E Ss were more resistant to extinction. The extinction findings were predicted from the frustration theory of the partial reinforcement effect.


1978 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Dubanoski ◽  
Howard R. Weiner

To test the discrimination hypothesis of the partial reinforcement effect in extinction, partial or continuous reinforcement trials were interpolated between the initial training trials of partial or continuous reinforcement and the extinction period. 112 children from Grades 2 and 3 participated in one of four conditions. Children receiving two consecutive blocks of partial reinforcement showed the greatest resistance to extinction, children receiving two consecutive blocks of continuous reinforcement showed the weakest resistance, and those receiving partial reinforcement followed by continuous reinforcement or vice versa showed intermediate levels of resistance. Discrimination between training and extinction does not seem to be the critical factor involved in the partial reinforcement effect. The results were discussed in terms of a stimulus analyzer or a sequential analysis model.


1968 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 741-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Boitano ◽  
Mary Day Foskett

Under widely distributed practice in a straight alley, partially reinforced goldfish did not exhibit greater resistance to extinction than consistently reinforced animals. The relative influence of equating trials or reinforcements in generating the partial reinforcement effect could not be evaluated since the partially reinforced Ss were significantly less resistant than either the equated-reinforcement Ss or the equated-trials Ss.


1966 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Mikulka ◽  
William B. Pavlik

Rats were given 60 acquisition and 32 extinction trials in a straight runway. A 3 × 2 factorial design was employed, combining 3 levels of food deprivation with continuous and partial reinforcement schedules. The principal results were: (a) The magnitude of the partial reinforcement effect during extinction increased with increased food deprivation. (b) The major effects of deprivation during extinction were upon the performance of Ss on partial reinforcement; there was relatively little effect on the performance of continuous reinforcement Ss. (c) The frequency of competing responses differed among the experimental groups during both acquisition and extinction and generally was inversely related to running speed.


1971 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 831-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Bloom ◽  
Robert A. McFarlain

Two hypotheses of hippocampal function predict that nonreinforcement effects should be attenuated in hippocampal-lesioned rats. As a test of these hypotheses, hippocampal-lesioned and normal rats were trained in the straight runway on continuous or partial reinforcement schedules and then extinguished. In acquisition, lesioned rats ran slower over-all than normals and slower on trials following reward than normals, but there was no difference on trials following nonreward. In extinction, although lesioned Ss with continuous reinforcement were more resistant to extinction than normals, there was little difference between lesioned and normal groups having partial reinforcement and no significant attenuation of the partial reinforcement effect. The results were interpreted as implicating the hippocampus in the mediation of reinforcement rather than nonreinforcement effects.


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