The Physical Properties of Bar-Pressing Behaviour and the Problem of Reactive Inhibition

Abstract

Many of the terms used in the literature on reactive inhibition are vague, subjective or incorrect. The weighted bar is not a suitable device in the study of this problem, since it records irrelevant aspects of behaviour. An experiment using apparatus which gives a continuous record of the force which a rat applies to a knob produces the following results. After much practice, pressing becomes sharp and brief and the amount of activity per reward is reduced. Under conditions of no (intentional) secondary reward the amount of activity during extinction is at first positively correlated with the average activity per reward during training, but the correlation diminishes as extinction proceeds. With auditory secondary reward there is no correlation.