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Effects of previous schedule
training on fixed-interval performance. Phil Reed, Gail Alexander, And Otto Bjoertomt University College London, UK Two experiments addressed the effects of previous schedule training on fixed-interval (FI) performance. Previous studies have shown that prior training on a variable ratio (VR) schedule has a lasting effect on FI performance in terms of response rate, but these studies have produced discrepant results with respect to the effect of previous VR training on the index of curvature. The current experiments were an attempt to systematically replicate these previous studies in order to clarify this issue. Further, the present experiments also examined the effect on FI responding of previous training on a variable interval (VI) schedule yoked to the VR schedule. This allowed the retraining effects on FI responding to be attributed either to a conditioning history on a schedule with a high rate of response (in which case the VR but not the VI schedule would have an impact on FI performance), or to a history with a particular rate of reinforcement (in which case both VR and yoked-VI schedules would have a similar impact on FI performance).The results are discussed with respect to their implications for interpreting human FI performance. Keywords: variable ratio, variable interval, fixed interval, behavioral history, rats |
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