Post-Conditioning Devaluation of an Instrumental Reinforcer has no Effect on Extinction Performance

The extent to which a representation of the reinforcer controls an instrumental response can be assessed by studying the effect of post-conditioning changes in the reinforcer value. In the first experiment rats were trained to press a lever for sucrose pellets on a variable-interval (VI) schedule. The sucrose was subsequently devalued by pairing with Lithium Chloride (LiCl). This had no effect on lever pressing in extinction, although it profoundly reduced reacquisition responding and consumption. In Experiment II rats were trained to shuttle between the two distinctive chambers of a choice-box, in which lever pressing was reinforced in one chamber by sucrose and in the other chamber by food pellets programmed on independent VI schedules. A LiCl-induced taste-aversion was conditioned to the sucrose, and although this markedly affected reacquisition, extinction responding in the sucrose chamber and chamber preference were unaffected. These results indicate that instrumental performance can be independent of the current value of the reinforcer, and are discussed with reference to stimulus-response theory and second-order Pavlovian conditioning.     

Outdoor enclosures for feralizing rats and mice

Rationales for the naturalistic study of rattus and mus in outdoor enclosures are well known but rarely transformed into practice. This paper describes the materials, construction details, and operational procedures for rat and mouse pens that are easily and inexpensively built and maintained. The suggestion here is that outdoor enclosures offer meaningful views of rodent behavior not accessible in traditional laboratory situations.     

Enhancement of off-key pecking by on-key punishment

Under a variable-interval food reinforcement schedule, some of a pigeon's pecking responses land on the wall area adjacent to the response key. These off-key pecks increase in frequency when key responses produce shocks and decrease when shock is removed.     

A closed-loop theory of motor learning

Following a discussion of the meaning of the term "skills" and a review of historical influences on their learning, a closed-loop theory for learning simple movements is presented. Empirical generalizations from the literature are stated, and the theory is used to explain them. The generalizations are of 2 classes: learning through the application of knowledge of results, and the effects of withdrawing knowledge of results.     

Transfer of an escape response from tail shock to brain-stimulated attack behavior

Nine cats, each with two hypothalamic electrodes in sites which when stimulated produced either quiet attack or attack accompanied by certain forms of vocalization, were trained to escape from tail shock by jumping onto a stool. They were then tested for transfer of the escape response to brain stimulation. Stimulation of the seven sites that yielded quiet biting attack did not elicit the learned response of jumping onto the stool. Stimulation of eight of the 11 sites that yielded attack accompanied by vocalization did elicit the learned response. It was concluded that attack behavior elicited by brain stimulation should not be considered a special case of the response to aversive stimulation, but that attack and response to aversive stimulation involve independent but overlapping systems.     

Memory access: The effects of fact-oriented versus problem-oriented acquisition

This study examined the effects of similarity between the processing of acquisition and the processing of test materials on performance in a problem solving task. Previous work by Perfetto, Bransford, and Franks (1983) demonstrated that uninformed subjects’ failure to utilize relevant acquisition information in a later problem solving task is the result of a failure to spontaneously access such information. The present study demonstrated that spontaneous access can be enhanced when both acquisition and test materials are processed in a similar manner, that is, in a problem-oriented manner. Furthermore, the present findings indicate that the processing similarity leading to enhanced access is specific to particular acquisition and test items, rather than a general problem solving set induced at acquisition and the subsequent testing situation. Results are interpreted within a transfer-appropriate processing perspective.     

Family life education needs of mentally disabled adolescents

This study identifies the family life education needs of minimally and mildly mentally disabled adolescents as a basis for curriculum development. Respondents were 134 students from 11 school districts in a midwestern state. Through the administration of 50 needs statements, they were asked to indicate the magnitude of need and the extent to which the need was being met. Special education teachers were allowed to assist in reading or interpreting the directions and needs statements. Priority need statements--those with a high need score which were not being met--are related to the decision to parent, careers and work, marriage and parenthood, decision making and goal setting, and resource management. Six clusters or groups of family life education needs were identified: Basic Nutrition, Teenage Pregnancy, Sex Education, Developmental Tasks of Adolescents, Marriage and Parenthood, and Planning and Decision Making. Females reported significantly greater need for information on nutrition, teenage pregnancy, and marriage and parenthood.