Are progressive ratio and fixed interval schedules of reinforcement related measures of impulsivity?
by Gutierrez, Christine, M.A., THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS - PAN AMERICAN, 2011, 48 pages; 1506254

Abstract:

The area of impulsivity is widely studied among many different professional fields however, given the broad brush that has been used to paint the construct of impulsivity, it's apparent that there is no true agreement on a definitive definition. In the present study, a purely behavioral procedure was tested with 10 female Sprague-Dawley rats who were placed on a progressive ratio and then a fixed interval 20 s schedule of reinforcement to see if these two schedules were related measures of impulsivity. The definition of impulsivity used in this study was relative to the performance of all animals in that those that responded sooner and the most were considered impulsive. It was hypothesized that that high rates of responding in a PR schedule of reinforcement would predict high rates of responding in an FI schedule of reinforcement. This hypothesis was not supported and possible explanations and limitations are discussed.
 
AdviserFrederick A. Ernst
SchoolTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS - PAN AMERICAN
SourceMAI/ 50-04, p. , Mar 2012
Source TypeThesis
SubjectsBehavioral sciences; Animal behavior; Experimental psychology
Publication Number1506254
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