Duration of wheel-running reinforcement: Effects on reinforcement value and motivation in free-feeding and food-deprived rats

Choice is relative: Reinforcing value of food and activity in obesity treatment.

“…Motivation to eat or to be sedentary can be operationalized by reinforcing value , or how hard a person will work for access to unhealthy versus healthy food or active versus sedentary behaviors (Epstein, Leddy, Temple, & Faith, 2007). Diets involve calorie restriction and deprivation, which is the prototypical way to increase food reinforcement in basic research (Belke, Pierce, & Cathcart, 2017; Carroll & Meisch, 1984). The reinforcing value of food and sedentary behaviors are also increased when humans are deprived of food (Epstein, Truesdale, Wojcik, Paluch, & Raynor, 2003) or deprived of social reinforcers, respectively (Gewirtz & Baer, 1958).…”