TRANSFORMATION OF POLYDIPSIC DRINKING INTO OPERANT DRINKING - A PARADIGM

Polydipsia in a rat, induced by spacing of small food portions, spontaneously evolved into an operant drinking response, adventitiously reinforced by food deliveries. As operant control became stronger, the inductive control of food over polydipsic drinking disappeared. The final form of the behavior responded to amphetamine in the same way that other moderate-rate operants do, and unlike the way polydipsia does. The present, unprogrammed result suggests one origin of operant behavior, and suggests that there is a range of behavior between simple reflexes and operants. © 1969, Psychonomic Journals, Inc.. All rights reserved.