Details
Zusammenfassung: <jats:p>Lever pressing in rats was maintained by continuous and intermittent schedules of food while defecation was monitored. In Experiment 1, reinforcement densities were matched across variable‐ratio and variable‐interval schedules for three pairs of rats. Defecation occurred in all 3 rats on the variable‐ratio schedule and in all 3 rats on the yoked variable‐interval schedule. In Experiment 2, fixed‐ratio and fixed‐interval schedules with similar reinforcement densities maintained lever pressing. Defecation occurred in 3 of 4 rats on the fixed‐ratio schedule and in 4 of 4 rats on the fixed‐interval schedule. Almost no defecation occurred during continuous reinforcement in either experiment. These results demonstrate that defecation may occur during both ratio and interval schedules and that the interreinforcement interval is more important than the behavioral requirements of the schedule in generating schedule‐induced defecation.</jats:p>
Umfang: 611-620
ISSN: 0022-5002
1938-3711
DOI: 10.1901/jeab.1993.60-611