Intermittent reinforcement of an interresponse time.

Rats were exposed to schedules in which reinforcement was contingent upon the emission of a 1.0- to 2.0-sec interresponse time. The rate of emission and the temporal distribution of this interresponse time was recorded. Several different contingencies between the emission of the interresponse time and reinforcement were examined. Both the rate of emission and the temporal distribution of the 1.0- to 2.0-sec interresponse time varied as a function of the schedule on which it was reinforced. This finding, which suggests that an interresponse time behaves as other operants, has implications for the analysis of conventional reinforcement schedules in terms of the differential reinforcement of interresponse times.