Operant stimulus control applied to maze behavior: heat escape conditioning and discrimination reversal in Alligator mississippiensis.

Eight alligators learned to run down a runway to escape heat. When they reached the end, a lamp turned off and they cooled down.

Next, the researchers blocked the old escape path. The animals had to turn around and use a new door. The team counted how many alligators switched to the new route.

Seven of the eight alligators learned the new escape path in just a few trials. They stopped trying the blocked door and ran the other way.

This shows that reptiles can reverse a learned choice when the payoff changes, a basic rule of operant learning.

Ferrari et al. (1991) repeated the reversal idea with pigeons. Birds also learned the switch, but only in the same box. When moved to a new room, they went back to the first choice. The alligators did not face a room change, so the study did not test this context effect.

LeFrancois et al. (1993) added extra cues like unique smells plus wall colors. With these cues, pigeons kept the new choice even when the room looked slightly different. Together, the three papers show that reversal learning works across species, but strong context cues help the new choice stick.

Storch et al. (2012) used a similar maze set-up to study extinction. They found that teaching an alternate move in a separate room later weakened relapse. This supports the same rule: context controls which response returns.

If a client keeps picking the old route to the break area, change the hallway cues. Add a bright floor sticker or a new scent near the desired turn. Practice the new path several times in that one context before you test it elsewhere. This keeps the new choice strong and lowers the chance the learner drifts back to the old one.