Delayed punishment of a runway response.

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Abstract
Water-reinforced runway behavior of rats was punished with electric shock at intervals ranging from 0-30 sec. after goal-box entry. Effectiveness of punishment decreased as a monotonic function of delay interval, but all punished Ss showed considerable disruption in runway performance. Results suggested basic similarities between rewards and punishments in their dependence upon temporal factors for their effectiveness. Suppression of behavior by delayed punishment was accounted for in terms of the development of conditioned punishing properties by goal-box cues which served to punish behavior immediately following goal-box entry. Observations of behavior following removal of punishment contingency indicated orderly extinction of punishment effects.

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