Clock-delivered reinforcers in conjunctive and interlocking schedules.

The effects of different temporal requirements in conjunctive and interlocking schedules of reinforcement were examined. The compound schedules were arranged so that a reinforcer could be delivered by either a rat's response or a clock. As the temporal requirements increased in the interlocking schedules, the overall rate of responding increased, but the pattern of responding remained relatively unchanged. As the temporal requirement increased in the conjunctive schedules, the overall rate decreased and a pause-and-run pattern of responding emerged. When the response requirement was reduced to one in the conjunctive schedule for one animal, a low and extremely stable rate of responding developed.