Psychology Commons^™

Effects Of Reinforcement Rate On The Aversive Function Of Timeout From Positive Reinforcement, Cory Whirtley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Although the use of timeout from positive reinforcement is widespread and has been shown to be an effective punisher in clinical settings, the factors responsible for its effectiveness are not fully understood. The present experiment was designed to evaluate one of these factors, the reinforcement rate underway during periods of time-in. Rats’ lever pressing was maintained on variable-interval schedules of food reinforcement in a multiple schedule with two components. In one component, no timeouts were delivered. In the other component, when a variable-ratio schedule was met, lever presses were followed by a 30-s timeout during which a tone sounded, the …