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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1979 Sep;32(2):183–189. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.32-183

Matching-to-sample accuracy on fixed-ratio schedules.

J R Thomas
PMCID: PMC1332894  PMID: 501271

Abstract

Pigeons performing on a matching-to-sample procedure were exposed to six fixed-ratio (FR) schedules (FR 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 60) of food reinforcement for correct matching responses. During both a correction and a noncorrection procedure without an intertrial interval (ITI), matching accuracy was lower on FR 1 and FR 60 than at intermediate ratios. With the FR 1 schedule, both a 5-sec and a 25-sec ITI resulted in higher matching accuracy than without an ITI; accuracy, with an ITI, was fairly constant for ratios of 1 to 20 but declined at higher ratios. The results suggest that the presence or absence of an ITI in matching to sample may account for inconsistencies obtained in earlier studies of the relationship of matching accuracy to ratio size.

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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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