Behaviorol Control by Variable Cycle Amidance Schedules: Effects of Pararneters T and P

Abstract

Three albino rats were exposed to eight values of variable time ranging from 10 to 300 seconds between electric shocks of 2.5 mA. and 0.10 sec. of duration. The variations were obtained changing the values of P (probabiity of the shock) and 1 shock-shock in¬terval when the response ja absent in b). Only the first response in each 1 cancelled the shock that could occur at the end of 1 with the assigned probability (P>, thus conforming variations of Variable Cycle Schedules sistematically explored through variations of blP. Other responses in T were registered but did not have any effect on the contingencies. By dissociation of T and P to explain the discontinuities atributable to systematic variation of b/P it was found that increments in T cause decrements in response rate, percentage of avoidance and bar holding, although there were increases in the latencies measured from the begining of T. Antagonically, increases in P cause increases of the response rate, avoi¬dance and bar holding and decreases of the latencies. It is supposed that shock rate or temporal density of shocks controls the performance and this effect is modulated by the “response-shock” interval as it is predicted by bodorov, Ferreira and Souza’s (1974) formula. Also it is suggested by the data that te locus of random interval or random ratio schedules of aversive control is close to 20.0 seconds.