Transfer of persistence in the domestic chick: Imprinting, punishment, and resistance to extinction of a food-reward running response

Abstract

Four groups of domestic chicks received imprinting, imprinting•shock, shock, or control treatment in the first week of life, and later learned a hunger-motivated running response in a runway under either continuous-or partial-reward conditions. When the running response was extinguished, a partial reinforcement effect (PRE) was shown in all four treatment groups. In the imprinting-shock treatment, persistence was enhanced following both partialand continuous-reward acquisition training. Implications for counterconditioning views of persistence are discussed.

Transfer of persistence in the domestic chick: Effects of imprinting experiences on later instrumental responses*

“…The increased resistance to extinction of 1M, IS, and SK Ss in Replication 1 and of 1M Ss in Replication 2 relative to the controls lends partial support to the earlier findings (Amsel et al, 1971). However, the persistence of these groups was strong enough across both replications to be significant only in the run measure of the overall analysis.…”

“…With the exception of a few minor modifications, all runway equipment employed in the present study was the same as that used in the Amsel et al (1971) experiment. The imprinting apparatus was a 3 x 1 x 1 ft wooden alley painted flat black with an open top.…”

“…Amsel, Wong, and Scull (1971) found that chicks which had made approach responses to an imprinting stimulus, with or without shock obstruction, *This report is based upon a portion of a dissertation submitted to the University of Texas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree. The author wishes to thank his Thesis Chairman, Abram Amsel, for advice and support during the undertaking of this research.…”

“…The experiment is a partial replication of the Amsel et al (1971) experiment and represents an attempt to establish the strength and replicability of the effects reported in that experiment. The main purpose of the experiment was to determine if imprinting, with and without shock obstruction, increases the resistance to extinction of a subsequently trained, continuously food-rewarded running response.…”

Transfer of persistence from fixed-ratio barpress training to runway extinction

“…It has been demonstrated, for example (Brown & Wagner, 1964), that partial reinforcement training in rats increases resistance to punishment, and that partial punishment training increases resistance to appetitive extinction. In domestic chicks, prior punishment of approach to an imprinting stimulus results in increased resistance to extinction of a food rewarded running response (Amsel, Wong, & Scull, 1971). Similarly, prior coerced-approach training in rats increases subsequent resistance to extinction of a food rewarded running response (Wong, 1972a, b).…”