Amount and percentage of reinforcement and duration of goal confinement in conditioning and extinction.

Abstract

Using running times of albino rats in a straight alley found that continuous reinforcement produced faster running than partial reinforcement, large rewards produced faster running than small rewards, and duration of confinement did not affect training performance. The effect of these variables upon extinction performance is also noted and the results discussed in terms of the various theories which attempt to account for the fact that partial reinforcement produces greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement. 16 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)