The effects of prolonged thwarting on instfumental response extinction

Abstract

To study the effects of prolonged frustration on extinction of a subsequently learned running response, one group of rats (CF) were subjected to a treatment in their individual home cages in which food was visible but unattainable for extended periods of time. A control group (NF) remained untreated. All Ss were then trained in a runway under conditions of continuous reinforcement followed by extinction. Both groups were then retrained in the runway with continuous reinforcement followed by a second extinction. In the second extinction, visible but unattainable food, rather than nonreward, was employed. Ss from Group CF extinguished faster and retraced more than did those from Group NF in the first extinction; in the second extinction, the differences were in the same direction but were not significant.