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INVESTIGATION OF THE INTRINSIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVER PRESSING BEHAVIOR AND FOOD REINFORCEMENT IN RATS

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Date Issued:
1981
Summary:
To determine whether or not lever pressing is intrinsically related to food gathering in rats, five adult male white rats were subjected to one week of DRO training, followed by 42 sessions of fixed time and four no food extinction sessions. They were subsequently given the opportunity to autoshape the lever press response for food. During fixed time, a stable pattern of terminal and interim responses developed, which was disrupted by the extinction trials. Lever pressing occurred as an interim response. Even after extensive response-independent reinforcement, four of the five animals autoshaped in a single 30 min session, with the remaining animal autoshaping by the third session. It is suggested that lever pressing is indeed a prepared response in rats in a food gathering situation and further, that it is part of a chain of responses that begins with a forepaw manipulatory behavior and terminates with the consumption of the pellet.
Title: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INTRINSIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVER PRESSING BEHAVIOR AND FOOD REINFORCEMENT IN RATS.
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Name(s): CHANCE, CATHY A.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1981
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 67 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: To determine whether or not lever pressing is intrinsically related to food gathering in rats, five adult male white rats were subjected to one week of DRO training, followed by 42 sessions of fixed time and four no food extinction sessions. They were subsequently given the opportunity to autoshape the lever press response for food. During fixed time, a stable pattern of terminal and interim responses developed, which was disrupted by the extinction trials. Lever pressing occurred as an interim response. Even after extensive response-independent reinforcement, four of the five animals autoshaped in a single 30 min session, with the remaining animal autoshaping by the third session. It is suggested that lever pressing is indeed a prepared response in rats in a food gathering situation and further, that it is part of a chain of responses that begins with a forepaw manipulatory behavior and terminates with the consumption of the pellet.
Identifier: 14060 (digitool), FADT14060 (IID), fau:10877 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1981.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Subject(s): Rats--Psychology
Rats--Behavior
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14060
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.