Administration of Trials Within-SS and Double-Alternation Responding: A Demonstration of a Multiple-Baseline Reversal

Abstract

Rats, in a four-phase within- Ss study, were given a double-alternation schedule of reward and nonreward (RRNNRRNN). During Phase I, the odor-exhaust system was blocked, and Ss developed the characteristic response pattern, i.e., they ran fast on the rewarded trials and slow on the nonrewarded trials. During Phase II, the exhaust-system was unblocked for the first four trials and blocked for the last four trials; and during Phase III, the conditions were reversed; the results showed that behavior was controlled more by the contemporary fan conditions than by the previous conditioning and reinforcement history of the Ss. Following Phase III, half of the Ss were extinguished under the fan-open condition, while the other half were extinguished under the fan-closed condition; Ss extinguished under the fan-open condition were more resistant to extinction than were Ss that were extinguished under the blocked condition. The over-all results showed that double-alternation responding was controlled more by odor processes than by memory processes.