Some relations between the intensive properties of the consummatory response and reinforcement.

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Abstract
Two groups of rats were run in a 16-ft. runway to a drinking tube. One group received 4% sucrose and the other 32%. Both groups were allowed a fixed time on the drinking tube and the number of licks, amount consumed, and the times to traverse successive segments of the runway were measured. Following training, a delay, just preceding the endbox, was introduced. Following retraining after elimination of the delay, a shift in the value of reinforcement was introduced. Variation in amount of consummatory activity over a fixed interval of time was not consistently associated with variation in running. The high concentration group always ran faster but drank slower (less) at first and faster (more) at the end of training. Introduction of delay did not result in variations in consummatory activity commensurate with those produced in running. The shift in reinforcement magnitude appeared to be mainly disruptive of consummatory activity, whether the shift was up or down. The gradient of running to the endbox was such that under all conditions the fastest running occurred in the early portion of the runway. The steepest gradient occurred with the greatest magnitudes of reinforcement. The steepness increased over trials. Hence, variation in total consummatory activity is not a necessary condition for variation in effectiveness of food reinforcement.
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