Rate of bar pressing as a function of quality and quantity of food reward.

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Abstract
Eighty-one rats were trained in a modified Skinner box, with three reinforcing substances differing only in taste and amount. The basic substance was a semi-liquid mixture of milk, flour, and water. Two other mixtures were made by adding a saccharin or citric acid solution to the basic mixture. Preference tests were given to 27 rats, using the foods-together technique. Analyses of variance on rates of responding during periodic reinforcement for days 1 and 5 both showed the main effects of taste and amount to be significant at better than the .005 level of confidence. There was no indication of a significant interaction. Results of the preference tests showed that the saccharin-flavored food was highly preferred over basic and citric. It is concluded that (1) rate of responding during periodic reinforcement is a function of both the taste and the amount of the food reward; (2) differences in rate of responding for taste are associated with food preference; (3) a high positive correlation exists between PR rate and number of responses during extinction.
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