Abstract
Research has shown that reinforcer variety can increase response rates. To determine whether the reinforcers comprising this variety must differ in reinforcing strength in order to produce this effect, rats were trained to lever press under three reinforcement conditions: pellets-only, sucrose-only, and pellets or sucrose (varied reinforcement). Although the sucrose concentration was made to be roughly equivalent to the pellets in reinforcing strength, the varied-reinforcement still produced the highest response rate.
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1. This research was supported by Grant No. 13111-01 from the National Institutes of Mental Health.
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Steinman, W.M. Response rate and varied reinforcement: Reinforcers of similar strengths. Psychon Sci 10, 35–36 (1968). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03331393
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03331393