Two matched groups of mature painted turtles, Chrysemys picta picta, were trained in a simple runway, one with partial and the other with consistent reinforcement, following which both groups were extinguished. The partially reinforced animals ran more slowly in acquisition, but showed somewhat greater resistance to extinction. The results are compared with those obtained in analogous experiments with other animals.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BittermanM. E. (1960). Toward a comparative psychology of learning. Amer. Psychologist15, 704–12.
2.
EskinR. M.BittermanM. E. (1961). Partial reinforcement in the turtle. Quart. J. exp. Psychol.13, 112–6.
3.
GellermannL. W. (1933). Chance order of alternating stimuli in visual discrimination experiments. J. genet. Psychol.42, 206–8.
4.
GonzalezR. C.LongoN.BittermanM. E. (1961). Classical conditioning in the fish: Exploratory studies of partial reinforcement. J. comp. physiol. Psychol.54, 452–6.
5.
LongoN.BittermanM. E. (1960). The effect of partial reinforcement with spaced practice on resistance to extinction in the fish. J. comp. physiol. Psychol.53, 169–72.
6.
WeinstockS. (1954). Resistance to extinction of a running response following partial reinforcement under widely spaced trials. J. comp. physiol. Psychol.47, 318–22.
7.
WeinstockS. (1958). Acquisition and extinction of a partially reinforced running response at a 24-hour intertrial interval. J. exp. Psychol.56, 151–8.
8.
WodinskyJ.BittermanM. E. (1959). Partial reinforcement in the fish. Amer. J. Psychol.72, 184–9.
9.
WodinskyJ.BittermanM. E. (1960). Resistance to extinction in the fish after extensive training with partial reinforcement. Amer. J. Psychol.73, 429–34.