Schedule-Induced Behavior: A Reappraisal of Wood-Chewing

Abstract

4 female albino food-deprived rats were run through experimental sessions consisting of three phases: baseline, periodic free-food delivery (one rat skipped this phase), and periodic free-food delivery with free water. Behavior during each session was coded and recorded on an event recorder. Analysis showed that for all rats polydipsia developed rapidly during the food delivery with water phases. The drinking pattern corresponded to the usual schedule-induced polydipsia finding. However, wood-chip chewing and eating was not induced to occur over baseline levels. After the analysis of results of this experiment and reviewing the literature on schedule-induced behavior, it was concluded that schedule-modulation is a more appropriate description of the effects of schedules on most recorded behaviors. Polydipsia was deemed an exceptional schedule effect, not a paradigmatic one.