Abstract

LOPEZ, Christian  and  BRUNER, Carlos A.. Conditioned reinforcement of the water-producing response in the schedule-induced drinking situation. Rev. mex. anál. conducta [online]. 2011, vol.37, n.3, pp.58-70. ISSN 0185-4534.

Previous research in our laboratory has shown that it is possible to establish an operant discrimination in the Schedule-Induced Drinking situation (SID) by reinforcing differentially the water-producing response in presence of an arbitrary stimulus. Given that the discriminative stimulus simultaneously acquires the function of a conditioned reinforcer, in the present experiment the latter stimulus function was tested during the extinction of the response that previously produced water. Dinsmoor's classic experiment (1950) was replicated closely, first establishing an operant discrimination (light on/ light off, S^D and S^Δ, respectively) and subsequently extinguishing the water-producing response in three conditions. In the first condition, in the presence of S^D responding by each of three rats produced S^Δ only. In the second condition, in the presence of S^A responding by each of three different rats produced S^D/ S^r only. In the third condition, in the presence of S^Δ responding by each of three different rats had no consequences. It was found that the S^D and S^r functions of the stimulus retarded extinction to a similar degree but distinctively more than in the S^Δ condition (the third condition). These results show that SID reduces to a case of operant conditioning and that it is possible to establish an S^r using an indirect deprivation of the primary reinforcer.

Keywords : schedule-induced drinking; operant discrimination; conditioned reinforcement; rats; lever pressing.