THE EFFECT OF FOOD-DEPRIVATION ON THE REINFORCING VALUE OF FOOD AND SMOKING IN BULIMIC AND CONTROL WOMEN

The reinforcing value of both food and cigarettes was examined in fema le smokers with and without bulimia nervosa. Subjects underwent two fo od-deprivation (18 h) and two nondeprivation conditions and worked for either food vs. money or cigarettes vs. money on concurrent progressi ve variable ratio schedules. Schedules for food/cigarettes increased p rogressively while schedules for money remained the same. Results indi cated no differences in the amount of time subjects spent working for food or the number of points earned for food in either bulimics or con trols when examining the entire eight-game trial. Results of the initi al two-game trial indicated marked differences, with the reinforcing v alue of food increasing after deprivation in control but not bulimic w omen and the total amount of time spent working for cigarettes increas ed after deprivation in controls. These results highlight that the eff ects of experimental food deprivation are most salient immediately aft er the deprivation and at low unit prices, and that bulimic and contro l women respond differently to a food-deprivation paradigm.