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Abstract

Three groups of rats were trained and extinguished (Phase I) in an alley, and retrained and extinguished (Phases II and III) under RN, NR, and RR reward schedules. An exhaust system was operative in the alley in Phases I and III but inoperative in Phase II. The results show that with the simple schedules employed, odors do not appear to mediate the running responses. Ss which received the RN schedule were generally less resistant to extinction than Ss receiving the other schedules. Following Phase III, Ss in Group RN were retrained and extinguished under the NR sequence, and Ss in Group NR were shifted to the RN sequence. The results showed that if S received an NR sequence at some point in training later behavior was much more influenced by this schedule than the previous RN sequence. Also, it appeared that RN schedules are aversive, perhaps like the “Time-out” phenomenon.

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RN Transitions: Frustration,Inhibition or Aversion?

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