Double drive learning in rats without previous selective reinforcement

Can rats which have never been selectively satiated by food or water respond appropriately by choosing the relevant reward when they are made hungry or thirsty ? A group of 21 rats was put on a diet of wet mash and trained both hungry and thirsty in a T-maze with water on one side and food on the other. 8 out of 10 of the animals which were made thirsty on the test-run chose correctly in spite of an established preference for the other reward. Only 1 out of the 11 animals made hungry chose correctly. Possible explanations of this result are examined.     

Distinguishing between learning and motivation in behavioral tests of the reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality

According to Gray's (1973) Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST), a Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and a Behavioral Activation System (BAS) mediate effects of goal conflict and reward on behavior. BIS functioning has been linked with individual differences in trait anxiety and BAS functioning with individual differences in trait impulsivity. In this article, it is argued that behavioral outputs of the BIS and BAS can be distinguished in terms of learning and motivation processes and that these can be operationalized using the Signal Detection Theory measures of response-sensitivity and response-bias. In Experiment 1, two measures of BIS-reactivity predicted increased response-sensitivity under goal conflict, whereas one measure of BAS-reactivity predicted increased response-sensitivity under reward. In Experiment 2, two measures of BIS-reactivity predicted response-bias under goal conflict, whereas a measure of BAS-reactivity predicted motivation response-bias under reward. In both experiments, impulsivity measures did not predict criteria for BAS-reactivity as traditionally predicted by RST.     

Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and learning English as a foreign language

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation with learning the English language. The 230 Iranian students at Shiraz University were tested using the Language Learning Orientations Scales to measure Amotivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Intrinsic Motivation as explanatory variables. Grade point average in English exams was selected as a measure of English learning Achievement. Multiple regression analysis revealed that learning Achievement scores were predicted by scores on the Amotivation subscale, Introjected Regulation subscale, Knowledge subscale, and Stimulation subscale, whereas, the External and Identified Regulation and Accomplishment subscales did not have a significant relationship with Achievement. The results are discussed in terms of differences in Iranian context and culture.     

Addiction motivation reformulated: an affective processing model of negative reinforcement

This article offers a reformulation of the negative reinforcement model of drug addiction and proposes that the escape and avoidance of negative affect is the prepotent motive for addictive drug use. The authors posit that negative affect is the motivational core of the withdrawal syndrome and argue that, through repeated cycles of drug use and withdrawal, addicted organisms learn to detect interoceptive cues of negative affect preconsciously. Thus, the motivational basis of much drug use is opaque and tends not to reflect cognitive control. When either stressors or abstinence causes negative affect to grow and enter consciousness, increasing negative affect biases information processing in ways that promote renewed drug administration. After explicating their model, the authors address previous critiques of negative reinforcement models in light of their reformulation and review predictions generated by their model.