AVERSIVE PROPERTIES OF PARTIAL AND VARIED REINFORCEMENT DURING RUNWAY ACQUISITION

Following partial (PR), continuous (CR), or zero reinforcement during runway acquisition, 64 male hooded rats were given hurdle-jump training to escape from the goal box to a neutral box. The PR Ss learned to jump the hurdle faster than CR and nonreinforced Ss, indicating that an aversive motivational state, frustration, develops during PR acquisition. A 2nd experiment demonstrated the existence of an aversive state during varied reinforcement runway acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.