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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1978 Jan;29(1):77–86. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.29-77

Effects on choice of reinforcement delay and conditioned reinforcement1

Ben A Williams, Edmund Fantino
PMCID: PMC1332810  PMID: 16812041

Abstract

Pigeons chose between fixed-interval schedules of different durations presented in the terminal links of concurrent-chains schedules. The pair of schedules was always in the ratio of 2:1, but the absolute duration of the fixed intervals varied. In one set of conditions, the different terminal-link schedules were associated with different keylight stimuli (cued conditions). In a second set of conditions, the different terminal-link schedules were associated with the same stimulus (uncued conditions). Results from the cued conditions replicated previous findings that preference for the shorter fixed-interval schedule increased with fixed-interval duration. Preferences in the uncued conditions were lower than in the corresponding cued conditions but also increased with fixed-interval length. In addition, the degree of control under the uncued conditions was correlated with the extent to which the schedule during the terminal link was discriminated immediately upon entry into the terminal link. The pattern of results in both conditions was inconsistent with the notion that choice behavior matches relative immediacy of reinforcement. Reanalysis of previous evidence for matching (Chung and Herrnstein, 1967) showed that matching in fact did not occur, as the preferences of their subjects for the shorter of two delays also increased with the absolute size of the delays.

Keywords: reinforcement delay, conditioned reinforcement, choice, reinforcement immediacy, cued conditions, uncued conditions, fixed-interval schedules, concurrent chained schedules, pigeons

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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