Sutherland, Mackintosh, and Wolfe (1965) demonstrated that continuous reinforcement given subsequent to partial reinforcement resulted in superior resistance to extinction than did continuous reinforcement administered prior to partial reinforcement. Because the experimenters did not make compensations for different acquisition asymptotes in their analysis of the extinction data, the interpretation of their results is questionable. Thelos and McGinnis (1967) obtained results contrary to those obtained by the latter experimenters. This study was run in order to obtain additional information pertaining to the effects of shifts of reinforcement schedules on resistance to extinction. Extended acquisition trials were used with the expectation of bringing the six experimental groups up to the same terminal asymptotic levels. When Ss were approximately 45 days old, Ss were randomly assigned to one of six acquisition conditions. These conditions were: 96 partial reinforcement trials, 192 partial reinforcement trials, 96 partial reinforcement trials followed by 96 continuous reinforcement trials, 96 continuous reinforcement trials followed by 96 partial reinforcement trials, 192 continuous reinforcement trials, and 96 continuous reinforcement trials. Following training in a straight runway, all Ss received 60 nonreward trials given in blocks of 6 trials a day. Time measures were taken of runway performance on acquisition and extinction trials. The results supported the hypothesis that extended training would produce equivalent terminal asymptotic running speeds in acquisition. None of the hypotheses made by Sutherland, Mackintosh, and Wolfe (1965) or by Thelos and McGinnis (1967) were supported by the results of the experiment; no significant partial reinforcement effect was obtained. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Three groups of rats were trained and extinguished with continuous (CRF) and partial (PR) reinforcement in the presence of two auditory stimuli differing in amount of similarity along a frequency dimension. Results revealed that in the groups where stimulus similarity was least, a within-subjects reversed partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) was found. The results also suggest that as similarity between the stimuli associated with CRF and PR decreased, the magnitude of the reversed PREE increased. This result is in contrast to Rashotte's (1971) predictions concerning the type of PREE produced as stimulus similarity varies along a single dimension. / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 V37 / Master of Science

The main and side effects of extinction were evaluated in a multiple baseline design across the problem behaviors of two elementary school boys. For each subject, functional analysis procedures resulted in the occurrence and assessment of only one of several problem behaviors reported by teachers. Extinction treatment based on functional analysis outcomes was then applied to the assessed topography and resulted in the emergence of other inappropriate response forms. Each successive behavior was exposed to extinction and changes in previous and subsequent response forms were observed. Both main effects and indirect effects of extinction were examined. Findings are discussed regarding the covariation of responses and implications for the treatment of behavior disorders in applied settings.

Using the "revealed operant" technique, variability during acquisition and extinction was examined with measures of response rate and a detailed analysis of response topography. During acquisition, subjects learned to emit four response patterns. A continuous schedule of reinforcement (CRF) for 100 repetitions was used for each pattern and a 30 min extinction phase immediately followed. One group of subjects learned the response patterns via a "trial-and-error" method. This resulted in a wide range of variability during acquisition and extinction. Only one subject emitted a substantial amount of resurgent behavior. A second group of subjects was given instructions on what keys to press to earn reinforcers. This group had less variability in acquisition and extinction and resurgent responding was prevalent.

This study examined effects of two response acquisition procedures on topography of responding using the revealed operant technique and compared results to previous experiments on this topic. Subjects emitted 100 repetitions each of 4 response patterns on a continuous schedule of reinforcement. A 30-min extinction condition followed acquisition. One group of subjects learned the first response through a series of shaping steps designed to reduce acquisition variability. Another group of subjects was instructed in the correct response topography and was told there was no penalty for attempting other sequences. The first group of subjects produced high variability during extinction despite reduced variability in acquisition. The second group of subjects responded with moderate to high variability during extinction and little variability during acquisition. Most extinction responses for the first group were variations of the last pattern reinforced. Most extinction responses for the second group were repetitions of the last pattern reinforced.

This experiment examined the effects of extinction on rate of responding and several topographical and temporal measures in adult humans. Three college students were trained to type the sequence 1•5•3 on a numeric keypad on a computer. The subjects were exposed to different fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement (FR1, FR 5, and FR10 respectively) and extinction. Subjects displayed typical schedule performances during the maintenance phase of the experiment. During extinction the performances were disrupted, they showed a "break and run" pattern and a general decrease in responding. Also, new topographical and temporal patterns emerged. These data are consistent with those reported for non-human species and special human populations.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Neuroscience)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2009. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.