The effect of reserpine on the strength of a verbal response

Abstract

This experiment employed reinforcement theory as a conceptual frame of reference in which the effect of reserpine on the strength of a verbal response conditioned under a schedule of partial reinforcement was investigated. Clinical studies were reviewed which reported that the intensity of compulsions in obsessive-compulsive patients was diminished after the onset of reserpine administration. It was noted that compulsive behavior observed clinically shares properties in common with behavior conditioned under a schedule of partial reinforcement in the laboratory - chiefly in that it is relatively inflexible, very difficult to alter and it inhibits the learning of new behavior. No attempt was made to equate the two but it was pointed out that the investigation of reserpine on an isolated segment of verbal behavior could help to understand its effects on more complex behavioral constellations [TRUNCATED]