Motstand mot ekstinksjon etter kontinuerlig og intermitterende forsterkning, artikkel 1. Motstand mot ekstinksjon etter kombinasjoner av kontinuerlig og intermitterende forsterkning, artikkel 2

Abstract

Many behavioral studies have been devoted to research on resistance to extinction. Research has found that behavior reinforced on an intermittent schedule is likely to be more resistant to extinction than behavior reinforced on a continuous reinforcement schedule (CRF). This is commonly referred to as the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE). A related phenomenon is the interpolation of reinforcement effect, which refers to the tendency of intermittently reinforced behavior to be less resistant to extinction if exposed to CRF immediately prior to extinction. Empirical studies of both PREE and the interpolation of reinforcement effect have had varying results, some indicating PREE and/or the interpolation of reinforcement effect, while others indicate reversed effects. It seems that one aspect that may affect the results in such studies is whether subjects are in contact with one or multiple schedules of reinforcement prior to extinction. Number of sessions and reinforcers included in the interpolated CRF seems to affect whether or not results show a interpolated reinforcement effect. Article 1 provides a review of important literature on the subjects of extinction, PREE and interpolating reinforcement effect. Article 2 is an empirical study of PREE with rats, which investigates the effect of exposing the individual subjects to multiple schedules of reinforcement on responding in extinction sessions. In addition the study investigates the interpolation of reinforcement effect by varying the number of sessions conducted with CRF following intermittent reinforcement, prior to extinction.