scholarly journals The Partial-Reinforcement Extinction Effect Does Not Result from Reduced Sensitivity to Non-Reinforcement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Harris ◽  
Manuel Stephen Seet ◽  
Dorothy Kwok
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Reinforcement Schedule ◽  
Conditioned Inhibition ◽  
Reinforcement Rate ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect

Five experiments used a magazine approach paradigm with rats to investigate whether learning about non-reinforcement is impaired in the presence of a conditioned stimulus (CS) that had been partially reinforced (PRf). Experiment 1 trained rats with a PRf CS and a continuously reinforced (CRf) CS, then extinguished responding to both CSs presented together as a compound. Probe trials of each CS presented alone revealed that extinction was slower for the PRf CS than the CRf CS, despite being extinguished in compound. In Experiment 2, a CRf light was extinguished in compound with either a CRf CS or a PRf CS that had been matched for overall reinforcement rate. Responding to the light extinguished at the same rate regardless of the reinforcement schedule of the other CS. Experiment 3 replicated this result with a PRf light. Thus, we found no evidence that a PRf CS impairs extinction of another CS presented at the same time. Experiments 4 and 5 extended this approach to study the acquisition of conditioned inhibition by training an inhibitor in compound with either a PRf or CRf excitatory CS. The reinforcement schedule of the excitatory CS had no effect on the acquisition of inhibition. In sum, conditioning with a PRf schedule slows subsequent extinction of that CS but does not affect learning about the non-reinforcement of other stimuli presented at the same time. We conclude that the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect is not due to a decrease in sensitivity to non-reinforcement following presentation of a PRf CS.

scholarly journals The Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect Depends on Learning about Non-Reinforced Trials Rather than Reinforcement Rate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Harris ◽  
Dorothy Kwok ◽  
Daniel Gottlieb
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Food Pellet ◽  
Reinforcement Rate ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Consistent Reinforcement ◽  
Trial Probability ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Conditioned Responding

Conditioned responding extinguishes more slowly after partial (inconsistent) reinforcement than after consistent reinforcement. This Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE) is usually attributed to learning about nonreinforcement during the partial schedule. An alternative explanation attributes it to any difference in the rate of reinforcement, arguing that animals can detect the change to nonreinforcement more quickly after a denser schedule than a leaner schedule. Experiments 1a and 1b compared extinction of magazine responding to a conditioned stimulus (CS) reinforced with one food pellet per trial and a CS reinforced with two pellets per trial. Despite the difference in reinforcement rate, there was no reliable difference in extinction. Both experiments did demonstrate the conventional PREE comparing a partial CS (50% reinforced) with a consistent CS. Experiments 2 and 3 tested whether the PREE depends specifically on learning about nonreinforced trials during partial reinforcement. Rats were trained with two CS configurations, A and AX. One was partially reinforced, the other consistently reinforced. When AX was partial and A consistent, responding to AX extinguished more slowly than to A. When AX was consistent and A was partial, there was no difference in their extinction. Therefore, pairing X with partial reinforcement allowed rats to show a PREE to AX that did not generalise to A. Pairing A with partial reinforcement meant that rats showed a PREE to A that generalised to AX. Thus, the PREE depends on learning about nonreinforced trials during partial reinforcement and is not due to any difference in per-trial probability of reinforcement

Extinction of a Runway Response following Runway or Goal Box Partial Reinforcement

1967 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wilton
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Schedule ◽  
Straight Runway ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Frustration Theory ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Consistent Reinforcement

Rats were trained on a consistent reinforcement schedule in a straight runway. They were then switched to one of two partial reinforcement procedures. One group continued to run the full length of the runway, another was placed directly in the goal box. When extinguished in the full length of the runway both groups were more resistant to extinction than groups trained only on consistent reinforcement. An attempt was made to delineate the conditions for a demonstration of the partial reinforcement extinction effect. The results were discussed in relation to frustration theory.

Information and the Partial Reinforcement Acquisition Effect

1973 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Wilton ◽  
R. O. Clements
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Schedule ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Partial Reward ◽  
The Other ◽  
Delayed Reinforcement ◽  
The Third ◽  
Trial Outcome ◽  
Trial Outcomes

Three groups of rats were trained on a delayed reinforcement schedule in an L-shaped runway. The running response, completed just before the turn of the runway, initiated the delay and exposed the rats to one of two delay stimuli. For two of the groups partial reward (50%) followed the delay. For one of these groups the delay stimuli and trial outcomes were correlated, making the delay stimuli informative with respect to the trial outcome some seconds before the outcome occurred. For the other group the delay stimuli and outcomes were uncorrelated, so information was not delivered until the occurrence of the trial outcome. The third group was reinforced on every trial (CRF), so no information followed responding at all. The results were that the partial reinforcement animals trained with correlated stimuli ran most quickly, followed by the partial reinforcement animals trained with uncorrelated stimuli, and then by the animals that were reinforced on every trial. The results were explained by the hypothesis that stimuli antedating the goal are increased in reinforcing strength when they transmit information, with the increase being proportionally greater the further the stimuli are from the goal.

Resistance to Extinction as a Function of Reinforcement Schedule and Training Level: A Test of Theios and Brelsford's Theory

1978 ◽  
Vol 42 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1091-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
William N. Boyer ◽  
Henry A. Cross ◽  
David D. Avery
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Schedule ◽  
Incentive Motivation ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Habit Strength ◽  
Training Level ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Resistance To Extinction ◽  
And Training

Two experiments were run in which one group of rats received 100% reward with 16 pellets per trial (100%-16), a second group received 50% reward with 16 pellets on rewarded trials (50%-16), and a third group got 50% reward with 32 pellets on rewarded trials (50%-32). From Theios and Brelsford's theory it was predicted that Group 50%-32 should show less resistance to extinction than Group 50%-16, since both were equated for habit strength but differed on incentive motivation. In Exp. 1 all groups had 32 acquisition trials whereas in Exp. 2 all groups had 64 acquisition trials. Aside from this difference the two experiments were identical. The partial reinforcement extinction effect occurred in both studies. In Exp. 1, Group 50%-32 did not show less resistance to extinction than Group 50%-16, however, in Exp. 2 this result was obtained and confirmed the prediction under test.

Partial Reinforcement of Social Behavior in Rats

1970 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn E. Stimbert
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Reinforcement Schedule ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Response ◽  
Continuous Reinforcement ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Training ◽  
Schedule Effects

The effects of partial reinforcement on a social response were studied in 2 groups of rats. One group was trained to follow other rats on a continuous schedule and the other on a partial (50%) schedule. Animals having partial reinforcement training performed at a higher level during extinction than those trained under continuous reinforcement. The results were interpreted as extending reinforcement schedule effects to animal social behavior.

scholarly journals Extinction of Pavlovian Conditioning: The Influence of Trial Number and Reinforcement History

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. K. Jonas Chan ◽  
Justin Harris
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Unconditioned Stimulus ◽  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Temporal Relationship ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Reinforcement History ◽  
The Us ◽  
Cumulative Duration ◽  
Learning As A Process

Pavlovian conditioning is sensitive to the temporal relationship between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US). This has motivated models that describe learning as a process that continuously updates associative strength during the trial or specifically encodes the CS-US interval. These models predict that extinction of responding is also continuous, such that response loss is proportional to the cumulative duration of exposure to the CS without the US. We review evidence showing that this prediction is incorrect, and that extinction is trial-based rather than time-based. We also present two experiments that test the importance of trials versus time on the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE), in which responding extinguishes more slowly for a CS that was inconsistently reinforced with the US than for a consistently reinforced one. We show that increasing the number of extinction trials of the partially reinforced CS, relative to the consistently reinforced CS, overcomes the PREE. However, increasing the duration of extinction trials by the same amount does not overcome the PREE. We conclude that animals learn about the likelihood of the US per trial during conditioning, and learn trial-by-trial about the absence of the US during extinction. Moreover, what they learn about the likelihood of the US during conditioning affects how sensitive they are to the absence of the US during extinction.

Sequential Effects of Non-Reward in a Skinner Box

1976 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. Still ◽  
A. St. C. Macmillan
Keyword(s):  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Simultaneous Discrimination ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Sequential Effects ◽  
Discrete Trials ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Skinner Box ◽  
Suggested Explanation

The partial reinforcement extinction effect was examined within subjects in a simultaneous discrimination in a two bar Skinner box. Discrete trials were used, rats being required to press the bar under the illuminated cue light; one bar was correlated with 100% the other with 50% reinforcement. The three groups differed in the probability of a change in the cue light between trials during acquisition. When this probability was low, the 50% bar was preferred in extinction, while when it was higher (0.433 or 0.875) the 100% bar was preferred. These results confirm Capaldi's (1966) hypothesis of the partial reinforcement extinction effect, and support a suggested explanation of some conflicting results on partial reinforcement effects in a Skinner box.

scholarly journals The Modified Law of Effect Explains the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M Seitz ◽  
Alexandra Stolyarova ◽  
Aaron Blaisdell
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Rapid Extinction ◽  
Paradoxical Finding ◽  
Environmental Reward ◽  
Behavioral Phenomena ◽  
Reward Contingencies ◽  
Selection Of

Thorndike’s Law of Effect provides a framework for understanding the selection of behaviors given specific environmental reward contingencies. Though a highly influential model, especially given its resurgence in popularity to understand habitual behaviors, it fails to predict several well-documented behavioral phenomena and incorrectly views extinction as the unlearning of a previously acquired association. Blaisdell, Stolyarova, & Stahlman (2016) proposed modifications to Thorndike’s original law that address these issues and greatly increases the model’s explanatory power. This modified Law of Effect (MLOE) also provides a testable account of the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE). The PREE is the paradoxical finding of more rapid extinction to a continuously reinforced cue than to a partially reinforced cue, and has challenged many theoretical accounts of learning. Simulations of the MLOE confirm these predictions. Two experimental paradigms, one using pigeons and the other using humans, show support for the Modified Law of Effect’s explanation of the PREE.

scholarly journals The Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect: The Proportion of Trials Reinforced During Conditioning Predicts the Number of Trials to Extinction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. K. Jonas Chan ◽  
Justin Harris
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Stimulus ◽  
Average Duration ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Design Experiment ◽  
Reinforcement Schedules ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Expected Number ◽  
Trial Probability ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Per Se

Four experiments compared the extinction of responding to a continuously reinforced (CRf) conditioned stimulus (CS) consistently reinforced on every trial, with extinction of responding to a partially reinforced (PRf) CS that had been inconsistently reinforced. To equate the acquisition of responding between the two CSs, the average duration of the CRf CS was extended so that it scheduled the same overall rate of reinforcement per unit time as the PRf CS. Experiment 1 used a within-subjects design to compare the rates of extinction for a 10-s PRf CS reinforced on 33% of trials versus a 30-s CRf CS. Experiment 2 made the same comparison but using a between-subjects design. Experiment 3 compared extinction in a group trained with a 10-s PRf CS reinforced on 20% of trials and a group trained with a 50-s CRf CS. Experiment 4 compared the rates of extinction following two partial reinforcement schedules, a 10-s PRf CS reinforced on 33% of trial versus a 20-s CRf CS reinforced on 66% of trials. In each experiment, responding took longer to extinguish for the CS that scheduled a lower per-trial probability of reinforcement. Modelling of individual extinction curves using Weibull functions indicated that the latency to initiate extinction was directly related to the per-trial probability of reinforcement learned during acquisition. For example, compared to training with a CRf CS, rats reinforced on 33% of trials took approximately three times as many trials to initiate extinction, and rats reinforced on 20% of trials took five times as many trials to initiate extinction. These results provide support for trial-based accounts of extinction (e.g. Capaldi, 1967), whereby rats learn about the expected number of trials per reinforcer, and extinction depends on the number of expected reinforcers that have been omitted rather than on the number of extinction trials per se.

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