Combining positive and negative reinforcement (both being electrical stimulation of the brain) for lever pressing by 4 rats produced a gradient of suppression as the 2 qualities of reinforcement were separated temporally. Maximal suppression occurred with an interstimulus interval of about 1 sec. This maximum was interpreted as marking the intersection of a waning interaction of the neurological aspects of reward and punishment and a delay-of-punishment gradient. After the 1 sec. of neural interaction, the greater the delay of punishment the less the suppression of responding.
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