Abstract
Infants aged 1–2 months and 3–4 months were fed from a nipple through which milk delivery could be controlled to conform either to fixed interval or fixed ratios of reinforcement. A variety of fixed-interval schedules were used, with maximum nonreinforced delay of 2.0 sec. Various fixed ratios were also employed, with maximum of 4 sucks per drop of milk. The schedules were linked to negative or positive mouthing pressure in different babies. The principal response to the more sparsely reinforced schedules (FI and FR alike) was a decrease in length of sucking bursts and a concomitant increase in length of pauses between. No scalloping effects were found in the sucking patterns. The older infants were more sensitive to changes in sparseness of schedule. Differential reaction also exhibited itself in sucking arhythmia. The younger infants showed more marked differential reaction to schedules through arhythmia than did the older ones. The findings indicate an increase in alertness and information processing with increased difficulty in obtaining nutriment synchronously with reflex patterns of sucking, since pausing in sucking is associated with greater scanning activity.
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