Extended acquisition training and resistance to extinction

A group of rats receiving 184 food rewarded, runway acquisition trials extinguished faster than groups receiving only 64 acquisition trials. This was found to be the case whether or not the groups receiving different numbers of acquisition trials were equated prior to extinction with respect to such variables as age, amount of handling, and length of time on deprivation schedule. The results corroborate previous findings by North and Stimmel on the effects of extended acquisition training, and indicate that their results cannot be attributed simply to the age, handling, and deprivation variables.