Effort and contrafreeloading

Abstract

Three groups of rats were trained to barpress for food pellets on the left side of an operant chamber and subsequently were offered a choice between this familiar food source and a novel food source on the right side for 10 consecutive daily sessions. One group was offered a choice between barpressing for “earned” pellets from the familiar source or obtaining identical “free” pellets from the novel source. A second group was offered a choice between two earned food sources, and a third group was offered a choice between two free food sources. The results were in agreement with a neophobia-optimality model. The latter groups, which were given a choice between two equally effortful food sources, overwhelmingly preferred the familiar source. The former group, which was given a choice between the familiar earned food source and a novel free food source, preferred the novel source. © 1984, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.