Consistency of Skinner Box Activity Measures in the Domestic Rabbit ( Oryctolagus Cuniculus )

Abstract

Consistency of individual differences in several measures of Skinner box operant and other activity and their intercorrelations in 14 chinchilla bred rabbits were studied. Reliability analysis revealed that both operant and activity measures were highly consistent (Cronbach alpha>0.87) over at least 15 days. Furthermore, locomotor activity, the tendencies to press the lever with high frequency, to make many errors, to check the presence of food in the dispenser as well as rearing were highly intercorrelated, making up a single dimension of activity. However, grooming did not correlate with these behaviors.