Resurgence of responding after the cessation of response-independent reinforcement

Abstract

In an autoshaping experiment, food-deprived pigeons pecked rapidly at a moving dot that preceded the delivery of food. When the moving dot and food were no longer correlated, the rate of pecking dropped nearly to zero. When, subsequently, no food was given, pecking reappeared at a high rate (nearly 200 pecks per min for each subject), the rate dropping again in subsequent sessions. In two other experiments, designed to clarify relevant variables, the effect was replicated. The data suggest that although response-independent reinforcement produces a decrement in responding, it does not reduce a tendency to respond under other conditions.