Complex response patterns during temporally spaced responding.

STAATROSS et al. (1962) watched monkeys work under a DRL schedule. The monkeys had to wait a set time between button presses to earn food.

The team tracked every move the animals made. They wanted to see if extra, unplanned behaviors popped up while the monkeys timed their responses.

The monkeys built little routines. They paced, rocked, or touched other parts of the cage between presses.

When the researchers gave drugs that hurt timing, these extra routines vanished along with the well-timed presses.

Flory et al. (1974) later proved these routines matter. They gently held monkeys still so the extra moves could not happen. Response rates shot up and pay-offs dropped, showing the routines help the animal wait.

Reid et al. (1983) added a twist with rats. When they removed toys or blocks that drew the rats away from the lever, pressing rose again. Their data say the moves work by keeping the animal busy, not by acting as an inner clock.

Smith et al. (1975) mapped drug effects in detail. Amphetamine, chlorpromazine, and chlordiazepoxide changed lever pressing in the same direction for every rat, but changed drinking or wheel-running in ways that differed from rat to rat. This unpacks the 1962 note that drugs disrupt both timing and collateral patterns.

If you run DRL to reduce rapid calling out, hand flapping, or button pushing, watch for little side routines the learner invents. Let them stay if they do no harm; blocking them can crash the timing you want. When a client starts a new med, expect both the target behavior and the side routines to shift, and be ready to re-train.