Reinforcer magnitude and periodic reinforcement

Abstract

To analyze the effects of reinforcer magnitude on the temporal control of behavior in periodic reinforcement, two groups of rats were exposed to 30 and 90 seconds Fixed Interval schedules. Half of the animals in each group received one pellet as a reinforcer while the other half received three pellets. Local response rates were higher with the larger reinforcer magnitude, but no differences were observed on the global rates. Also, the larger reinforcer magnitude generated longer response latencies, but the within-interval response distribution followed a sigmoid function in all cases. These findings are discussed in the context of the dual role of reinforcement hypothesis and temporal control as an adaptive form of behavior resulting from temporal and motivational factors.