International Journal of Comparative Psychology

In behavior analysis, the modulation of the effect of time-based schedules by the spatial characteristics of the environment has been scarcely studied. Furthermore, the spatial organization of behavior, despite its ubiquity and ecological relevance, has not been widely addressed. The purpose of the present work was to analyze the effect of water delivery location (peripheral vs. central) on the spatial organization of water-feeding behavior under time-based schedules. One group of rats was exposed to a Fixed Time 30 s-water-delivery schedule and a second group to a Variable Time 30 s schedule. For both groups, in the first phase, the water dispenser was located in the perimetral zone. In the second condition, the water dispenser was located in the central zone. Each location was presented for 20 sessions. Rat’s trajectories, distance to the dispenser, accumulated time in zones, and entropy measures were analyzed. A differential effect of the location of water delivery in interaction with the time-based schedule was observed on all the analyzed spatial qualities of behavior. The findings are discussed in relation to the ecological proposal of Timberlake's behavioral systems.