Acquisition and extinction in the runway as a joint function of constant reward magnitude and constant reward delay

Abstract

Three levels of constant reward magnitude and three levels of constant delay of reward were combined in a factorial design to determine the joint effects of reward magnitude and delay upon a runway response in rats. In acquisition, magnitude affected rate of learning and delay affected asymptotic level of performance, and the two variables interacted to affect both rate and asymptote. In extinction, magnitude tended to affect resistance to extinction while delay did not, and there was no interaction of the variables. Results were interpreted in terms of Capaldi’s (1967) sequential theory.