VARIABLE‐INTERVAL PUNISHMENT DURING VARIABLE‐INTERVAL REINFORCEMENT¹

Abstract

Variable-interval punishment was superimposed on a variable-interval food reinforcement baseline for three groups of rats. The value for the variable-interval punishment schedule was the same as that for the variable-interval food reinforcement schedule, although the two schedules were programmed independently. The three groups were Variable Intervals 0.5, 1, and 3 min. Little or no suppression occurred in the three groups at mild (0.2 and 0.4 ma) intensities of punishment, but at 0.6 ma, complete suppression occurred almost uniformly. During continued punishment, there was no consistent recovery toward the pre-punishment baseline at suppressing intensities of punishment. After punishment was discontinued, recovery from suppression was more rapid the lower the punishment intensity, and the lower the value of the variable-interval schedules of reinforcement and punishment.When punishment follows a response which is concurrently positively reinforced, a temporary or permanent reduction ("suppression") in the rate of responding is usually seen. This temporary reduction is followed by recovery during, and after, a punishment period either to, below, or even above, the pre-punishment level. Previous studies, using a continuous (Azrin, 1959(Azrin, , 1960bAppel, 1963;Boroczi, Storms, and Broen, 1964), periodic (Estes, 1944, Experiments E and K), or fixed-ratio punishment schedule (Azrin, Holz, and Hake, 1963;Hendry and Van-Toller, 1964), have related both the suppression and recovery phenomena of punishment to characteristics of the punishing stimulus (shock level, shock duration), the concurrent schedule of positive reinforcement which maintains responding, and the state of the punished organism (deprivation level). There has been little work on variable-interval punishment. In Azrin's (1956) study of punishment, a modified variable-interval punishment schedule was used, the punishment period (signaled by a change in key color) alternating with a "safe" period. A fairly high shock level was used, and behavior was rapidly and completely suppressed, with subsequent slow recovery. It is not certain whether these results are characteristic of variable-interval punishment at lower shock levels.The present study extends Azrin's (1956) work. Primary interest was on the effect of frequency of punishment (number of punishments delivered to each animal per session was approximately constant) and punishment intensity (shock level was systematically varied from low to high) on behavior. In studies of punishment using a continuous punishment schedule, number of punishments is an uncontrolled variable. That is, when punishment follows each and every response, a higher rate of responding results in a greater number of punishments. This correlation may enhance the effect of the punishment itself. In a variableinterval punishment schedule, the two are independent, as long as the animal maintains a minimal level of responding. Thus, variableinterval punishment may have different effects on behavior than other schedules of punishment. 5...

An implementation of punishment in the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics

“…The implementation assumes that two properties of punishment and one property of reinforcement determine the impact of punishment on behavior. The two properties of punishment are the magnitude and frequency of the punisher, which are known to have potent effects on behavior (e.g., Azrin, ; Azrin, Holtz, & Hake, ; Filby & Appel, ). The one property of reinforcement, which is novel to this implementation of punishment, is the reinforcement context in which the punisher is delivered.…”

INTERMITTENT PUNISHMENT OF HUMAN RESPONDING MAINTAINED BY INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT1

“…Until recently, there have been few investigations of intermittent punishment (e.g., Estes, 1944;Azrin, 1956;Filby and Appel, 1966;Kaufman, 1966;Church, 1968). However, Azrin and Holz (1966, p. 401) noted: "In order to specify the nature of response reduction by punishment, it is necessary to specify the schedule of reinforcement that is maintaining the response."…”

A Variable-Interval Punishment Procedure for Assessing Anxiolytic Effects of Drugs

“…As can be seen, this animal received only one shock during the session shown. Previous research has also demonstrated that variable-interval schedules of shock delivery can be very effective in producing suppression of operant behavior (Filby & Appel, 1966;Van Houten & Rudolph, 1971). Fig.…”