A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION OF SKINNER (1938) USING A HOT AIR BLAST AS THE PUNISHER

Resumo

The present study was a systematic replication of the classic study by Skinner (1938) using a hot air blast (HAB) as the punisher. After lever press training, six rats underwent two extinction sessions. During the initial 10 min of extinction in the first session, half of the subjects received a HAB for every lever press (punishment). Subjects that received punishment made fewer lever presses during first extinction session, but the total number of responses in both groups was equivalent by the end of the second extinction session. The present data corroborate the findings of Skinner (1938) that the punishment may have partial and temporary effects in certain contexts. We discuss the ways in which the elicitation of competitive responses, the intensity and nature of the stimulus, and the duration of exposure to the aversive contingency are important factors that may explain the divergent results in the literature.

Keywords: punishment, replication, competitive responses, suppression, rats, hot air blast