Within-session responding when different reinforcers are delivered in each half of the session

Abstract

The present study investigated whether within-session responding was specific to the reinforcer currently being delivered and whether it was determined solely by retrospective factors. In four separate experiments, four rats pressed a lever on a multiple variable interval 60-s variable interval 60-s schedule during 60-min sessions. A different reinforcer (5% liquid sucrose or food pellets) was delivered in each half of the session. Rate of reinforcement in one half of the session varied across conditions. Response patterns in the second half of the session were unaffected by changes in the conditions of reinforcement of the other reinforcer in the first half of the session (specificity). Rate of responding was affected, however. The upcoming reinforcer influenced responding when sucrose was delivered in the first half of the session and food pellets were delivered in the second half, but not when their order was reversed. This effect makes contact with several other areas of research (e.g. behavioral contrast). They also suggest that the leading explanations for within-session changes in responding may be limited or incomplete.