Low-response-rate conditioning history and fixed-interval responding in rats.
Old response history vanishes fast; the schedule you run now is what shapes behavior.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave rats two different training histories. One group learned to press slowly under a DRL schedule. The other group learned to press quickly under an FR schedule.
Next, both groups switched to the same fixed-interval schedule. The team watched to see if the old slow or fast habits stuck.
What they found
The rats’ new response rates on the fixed-interval schedule only copied the schedule that came right before it. The earlier slow-rate history did not carry over.
In simple words: only the most recent rules mattered. Long-term history was wiped out.
How this fits with other research
Harris et al. (1978) ran a similar rat study but added d-amphetamine. They also saw that past training set the baseline rate, yet the drug effect still hinged on that immediate history. The 1993 paper trims the story: no drug needed, just the last schedule rules.
Zhou et al. (2018) moved from lab to clinic. They showed that full-session DRL alone can cut severe problem behavior. Their success makes sense after LeFrancois et al. (1993): once the DRL is in place, old high-rate history fades quickly, so clients adopt the new low pace.
Doughty et al. (2002) warned that bigger reinforcers on DRL make animals press faster and break the schedule. Together with LeFrancois et al. (1993), this tells us two things: first, keep reinforcer size modest; second, even if the client speeds up, the next schedule can still reset behavior.
Why it matters
When you switch schedules, do not fear old high-rate habits. The newest contingency quickly takes over. If you need to slow a client down, run your DRL or other low-rate program with confidence. The past will not fight you for long.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Bar presses by one group of rats were conditioned under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate reinforcement schedule immediately prior to conditioning under a fixed-interval schedule. In a second group of rats, bar presses were conditioned first under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule and then under a fixed-ratio schedule prior to conditioning under a fixed-interval schedule. Low response rates occurred under the fixed-interval schedule only when it was immediately preceded by low-rate conditioning. Otherwise, fixed-interval responding was similar to responding under the fixed-ratio schedule. This finding suggests that responses of laboratory animals are sensitive to immediate history, and, unlike human responses, are relatively insensitive to a history of low-rate conditioning when it is followed by high-rate conditioning.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1993 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1993.59-543