Suppression of a rewarded response by punishment as a function of reinforcement schedules

Abstract

Four groups of 15 human Ss were trained on a button-pressing response for money. During acquisition, two groups received 100% continuous reward (C) for the correct response and two groups received 50% intermittent reward (I). These reward schedules were maintained when punishment of the response subsequently was introduced. One C and one I group received 100% continuous punishment (CP) and the two remaining groups received 50% intermittent punishment (IP). Groups receiving CP suppressed the response in fewer trials than those receiving IP (p < .005), but suppression rates of the C groups did not differ from the I groups.