Abstract
Operant conditioning of head turning in 4-mo. human infants was demonstrated. Head rotations to the right or left of a central position were selectively strengthened by experimental presentation of milk as a reinforcing stimulus. Reliable acquisition and extinction of left or right rotations were found for two experimental groups while a control group for eliciting effects of milk presentation showed no consistent changes over conditioning phases.
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1. This research was conducted while the author was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the United States Public Health Service. It was supported in part by a USPHS research grant (No. NB-04268) to Lewis P. Lipsitt, whose valuable advice during the course of this investigation is gratefully acknowledged.
2. National Collaborative Project of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness.
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Siqueland, E.R. Operant conditioning of head turning in four-month infants. Psychon Sci 1, 223–224 (1964). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03342878
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03342878