Integrating control generated by positive and negative reinforcement on an operant baseline: Appetitive-aversive interactions

摘要: The interaction of opposing motivational states was measured within a design in which rats barpressed for food one stimulus and to avoid shock another. Tone light discriminative stimuli (Sds) were counterbalanced over incentive conditions. Extinction eliminated responding when neither Sd present. To minimize the influence competing peripheral operants or reinforcer-elicited behaviors during appetitive-aversive interactions, contingency parameters manipulated generate similar rates patterns barpressing both Sds stimulus-compounding tests administered extinction. On these tests, tone, light, tone plus (T+L) equivalent. In contrast, same reinforcer (i.e., avoidance) maintained comparable training testing, T+L controlled double single stimuli—strong additive summation. These results strikingly those single-incentive experiments concerned with contribution excitatory inhibitory compounding. Simultaneously presenting two whose implicit stimulus-reinforcer (S-Sr) contingencies arranged make them, respectively, conditioned appetitive aversive exciters (present experiment) produced test S-Sr them inhibitors. Reciprocal antagonism between motive more than neutralizes them. It appears produce negative an inhibitory) state.