“Freeloading” in the Skinner Box Contrasted with Freeloading in the Runway

Abstract

Three groups of rats were allowed to make either 0, 40 or 285 rewarded bar-pressing responses and then were given a choice between eating pellets from a dish (freeloading) or pressing the bar. 3 independent groups (Ss randomly assigned) were allowed to make either 0, 40, or 285 rewarded runs in a 4-ft. runway and then were given a choice between freeloading in the start box or running the maze. For all 6 groups a “total time” score was obtained which reflected the average time taken to stop freeloading and perform either one bar-pressing response or one run to the goal box. The 3 runway groups showed a marked tendency toward higher total time scores with increasing amounts of training whereas the three Skinner-box groups showed a trend in the opposite direction.