Straight-Runway Application of the Incentive-Motivation Behavior-Guidance Theory

Abstract

Compared with animals receiving nonrewarded or 4 rewarded placements, 16 placements to food in the goalbox of a straight runway was effective in producing facilitation of previously unrewarded traversal of a straight runway. The apparatus was built to provide a primary gradient of goalbox cues along the runway, in accord with conditions required by the incentive-motivation hypothesis of behavioral guidance. These results, along with the data of previous studies that failed to obtain the facilitation effect, were attributed to positive and reversed goal-cue gradients in the runway.