Four Southeastern king snakes (Lampropeltis getulus getulus) were conditioned to discriminate between two pigeon keys when one was associated with water reinforcement and the other with extinction. There was also some evidence that a partial discrimination reversal could be obtained.
Moulting was found to decrease body weight and responding. Also, discrimination was less effective during moulting for three of the four subjects. There was evidence to indicate that the opaque covering interferes with responding. Once the covering was shed, responding usually occurred.
On an ad lib water schedule subjects usually drank every day. The different subjects mean daily consumption ranged from 1.71% to 3.45% of body weight.
Latencies were usually longer than is typical for mammals and birds. Latencies between 500-2000 seconds were typical.
The distribution of IRT's was bimodal. The IRT's were usually either short or long. The most frequent IRT was between 1-2 seconds.
Small response clusters were more numerous than large clusters. The most common size cluster of responses was 2.
","abstract_html":"<p>Four Southeastern king snakes (<em>Lampropeltis getulus getulus</em>) were conditioned to discriminate between two pigeon keys when one was associated with water reinforcement and the other with extinction. There was also some evidence that a partial discrimination reversal could be obtained.</p> <p>Moulting was found to decrease body weight and responding. Also, discrimination was less effective during moulting for three of the four subjects. There was evidence to indicate that the opaque covering interferes with responding. Once the covering was shed, responding usually occurred.</p> <p>On an ad lib water schedule subjects usually drank every day. The different subjects mean daily consumption ranged from 1.71% to 3.45% of body weight.</p> <p>Latencies were usually longer than is typical for mammals and birds. Latencies between 500-2000 seconds were typical.</p> <p>The distribution of IRT's was bimodal. The IRT's were usually either short or long. The most frequent IRT was between 1-2 seconds.</p> <p>Small response clusters were more numerous than large clusters. The most common size cluster of responses was 2.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fannin, Hugh Robert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)","degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Richard L. Rogers","J. Peter Kincaid"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1974,"date_issued":"1974-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1974-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:40Z","subjects":["ETD","Southeastern king snakes","Lampropeltis getulus getulus","Water reinforcement","Extinction","Partial discrimination reversal","Moulting","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/905","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Richard L. Rogers","J. Peter Kincaid"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fannin, Hugh Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-09-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Southeastern king snakes","Lampropeltis getulus getulus","Water reinforcement","Extinction","Partial discrimination reversal","Moulting","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/905"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Four Southeastern king snakes (Lampropeltis getulus getulus) were conditioned to discriminate between two pigeon keys when one was associated with water reinforcement and the other with extinction. There was also some evidence that a partial discrimination reversal could be obtained.
Moulting was found to decrease body weight and responding. Also, discrimination was less effective during moulting for three of the four subjects. There was evidence to indicate that the opaque covering interferes with responding. Once the covering was shed, responding usually occurred.
On an ad lib water schedule subjects usually drank every day. The different subjects mean daily consumption ranged from 1.71% to 3.45% of body weight.
Latencies were usually longer than is typical for mammals and birds. Latencies between 500-2000 seconds were typical.
The distribution of IRT's was bimodal. The IRT's were usually either short or long. The most frequent IRT was between 1-2 seconds.
Small response clusters were more numerous than large clusters. The most common size cluster of responses was 2.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Stimulus Control in the King Snake (Lampropeltis getulus getulus)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Richard L. Rogers","J. Peter Kincaid"],"dc:creator":["Fannin, Hugh Robert"],"dc:date.available":["2015-09-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Four Southeastern king snakes (Lampropeltis getulus getulus) were conditioned to discriminate between two pigeon keys when one was associated with water reinforcement and the other with extinction. There was also some evidence that a partial discrimination reversal could be obtained.
Moulting was found to decrease body weight and responding. Also, discrimination was less effective during moulting for three of the four subjects. There was evidence to indicate that the opaque covering interferes with responding. Once the covering was shed, responding usually occurred.
On an ad lib water schedule subjects usually drank every day. The different subjects mean daily consumption ranged from 1.71% to 3.45% of body weight.
Latencies were usually longer than is typical for mammals and birds. Latencies between 500-2000 seconds were typical.
The distribution of IRT's was bimodal. The IRT's were usually either short or long. The most frequent IRT was between 1-2 seconds.
Small response clusters were more numerous than large clusters. The most common size cluster of responses was 2.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/905"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Southeastern king snakes","Lampropeltis getulus getulus","Water reinforcement","Extinction","Partial discrimination reversal","Moulting","Psychiatry and Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Stimulus Control in the King Snake (Lampropeltis getulus getulus)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:40Z"}