On the Classification of Reinforcement Schedules

Schoenfeld, W. N.; Cumming, William W.; Hearst, Eliot

doi:10.1073/pnas.42.8.563

Cited by 127 publications

(97 citation statements)

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“…It should be noted that schedule procedures like the one used here were originally described by Schoenfeld (Schoenfeld, Cummings, & Hearst, 1956) and were called random-interval or random-ratio schedules. However, these terms have often been used to label schedules that are at variance with Schoenfeld's original criteria (e.g., Millenson, 1963) and not really constant probability schedules of reinforcement delivery, since they contain unlimited holds of reinforcement.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signaling unearned reinforcers removes the suppression produced by a zero correlation in an operant paradigm

Hammond

Weinberg

1984

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Rats in two separate experiments were trained on schedules of reinforcement that allowed the probability of reinforcement (a drop of water) given a leverpress in any second and the probability of water given no leverpress in any second to be manipulated independently of one another. After training on high-positive contingencies (no water for not leverpressing), rats were shifted to zero contingency (equal water for pressing or not pressing), and, as is usually found, 1ever-pressing declined radically. Then each water reinforcer given for not leverpressing was signaled by a 5-sec flashing light and gradually, after many sessions, leverpressing returned to normal. This effect was seen for all five experimental rats in a within-subject-design experiment and also for all four experimental rats-but not at all for the four control rats-in a second, between-subjectdesign experiment. These results are interpreted within a framework that stresses three-term relations between S, R, and reinforcement that emphasizes the difference between earned and unearned reinforcement as two of those three terms.In both classical and operant conditioning, the presentation of a substantial number of USs or reinforcers that are not preceded by a response or a punctate stimulus can result in substantial loss of conditioning (e.g., Rescorla, 1968;Rescorla & Skucy, 1969). These poor conditioning situations are often described by the zero contingency or correlation between the two elements in conditioningstimulus and US or response and reinforcer (Rescorla, 1967).In classical conditioning, some theories, such as the Rescorla-Wagner model (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972), have emphasized the role that conditioning of the context plays in mediating such effects. According to this model, unsignaled USs condition the context or background cues, but when those USs are signaled by an entirely different CS, competition occurs between this new CS and the context. This view predicts that such added CSs before USs during the intertrial interval will make the zero contingency ineffective and that conditioning will now occur to the original CS. Most, but not all, experiments that have compared the effect of signaled versus unsignaled intertrial USs have supported this model. Durlach (1983) reports two such experiments and reviews many other such studies. In the classical conditioning literature, it can also be noted that there is a tangentially related effect of signaling intertrial USs upon the development or the maintenance of inhibition (Baker, 1977;Hammond, 1966Hammond, , 1968.The authors thank Philip Hineline for editorial assistance in the preparation of the manuscript. This research was supported in part by a grantin-aid from Temple University. Reprints may be obtained from the senior author at the Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122. In operant conditioning, one can also arrange for a zero correlation or contingency between the elements of conditioning, in this case between response and reinforcement (RFT), and observ...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signaling unearned reinforcers removes the suppression produced by a zero correlation in an operant paradigm

Hammond

Weinberg

1984

Animal Learning & Behavior

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“…Through this mood alleviation, the outcome expectancy of mood alteration is reinforced. It is possible that this reinforcement occurs on a variable-ratio schedule ratio (Schoenfeld, Cumming, & Hearst, 1956), as new content is posted on the News Feed at random intervals.…”

Section: Future Research: Pathways To Problematic Facebook Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Who gets hooked on Facebook? An exploratory typology of problematic Facebook users

Ryan¹,

Reece²,

Chester³

et al. 2016

Cyberpsychology

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“…Stability was defined for all phases as the difference between the total intakes of the last three and previous three test sessions being less than 10% of the total intake of the last six sessions (cf. Schoenfeld, Cumming, & Hearst , 1956) .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of number of pellets per food delivery and pellet sucrose composition on schedule-induced drinking

Schaeffer

Brush

1978

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

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Four groups of four rats were tested on a fixed-time (FT 60-sec) schedule in which one, three, or five pellets per food delivery and 0%, 8%, 16%, and 32% sucrose pellets were factorially combined. The results showed no ststistically significant differences in water intake associated with sucrose content of the pellets, but did show a significant inverse relationship between water intake and number of pellets given per reinforcement. This latter finding was interpreted as a result of the direct relationship in the rat between total number of reinforcement opportunities and probability of drinking. This relationship was suggested to be an important dependent variable in studies that measure and attempt to account for collateral fluid ingestion.Schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) denotes excessive fluid intakes produced in animals through concurrent placement under a regimen of food deprivation and exposure to fluids and certain schedules of intermittent food delivery (e.g., Falk, 1969Falk, , 1971 . The development and maintenance of SIP are responsive, in part, to quantitative (e.g., Falk , 1967 ; Flory, 1971) and qualitative (e.g., Christian & Schaeffer, 1973b ; Colotla & Keehn , 1975) variations in food composition . Recently , the influence on SIP of manipulating the sugar concentration of the dry-food pellets typ ically employed in SIP studies has received attention ; nonetheless, the nature, degree , and directionality of the influence of pellet sugar content on SIP remain enigmatic. For example, though both Christian and Schaeffer (1973b) and Colotla and Keehn (1975) reported an inverse, ordered relationship between the level of SIP and the percent sugar concentration of Noyes food pellets, Christian and Schaeffer (1973b) found greater water intakes for sugarless pellets than for sugared pellets, whereas Colotla and Keehn (1975) reported exactly the opposite'results.The present experiment was designed, first , to reexamine the effects of food-pellet sucrose concentration on SIP by systematically replicating Christian and Schaeffer 's (1973b) study and, second , to determine any possible interaction between food-pellet sucrose content and number of pellets delivered per reinforcement opportunity .

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On the Classification of Reinforcement Schedules

Cited by 127 publications

References 1 publication

Signaling unearned reinforcers removes the suppression produced by a zero correlation in an operant paradigm

Signaling unearned reinforcers removes the suppression produced by a zero correlation in an operant paradigm

Who gets hooked on Facebook? An exploratory typology of problematic Facebook users

Effects of number of pellets per food delivery and pellet sucrose composition on schedule-induced drinking

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