RUNWAY PERFORMANCE UNDER HORN OF PLENTY CONDITIONS VERSUS GRADUAL DIMINUTION OF REWARD SUPPLY

6 GROUPS OF 20 RATS EACH RECEIVED 16 TRIALS IN A RUNWAY. THE HORN OF PLENTY (HOP) RATS RECEIVED 1 CONSUMABLE PELLET PER TRIAL. THE DIMINISHING FOOD SUPPLY (DFS) RATS RAN TO 1 CONSUMABLE PELLET PER TRIAL PLUS 15, 14 ... 1, OR ZERO UNCONSUMABLE PELLETS AS TRAINING PROGRESSED FROM THE 1ST-16TH TRIAL. A SIGNIFICANT (P < .05) TREND WAS OBSERVED, WITH DFS RATS 1ST RUNNING FASTER AND THEN SLOWER THAN HOP RATS AS TRAINING PROGRESSED (AND AS THE TOTAL DEPLETION OF THE FOOD SUPPLY BECAME MORE IMMINENT). THE REMAINING 4 GROUPS WERE RUN MERELY TO CLARIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOP AND DFS CONDITIONS. IT APPEARS THAT BEING ABLE TO SEE AND SMELL THE UNCONSUMABLE PELLETS PROVIDES SOME INCENTIVE, BUT NOT NEARLY SO MUCH AS BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY EAT THE PELLETS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.