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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1980 Jan;33(1):15–25. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1980.33-15

Toward a quantitative theory of punishment

Peter A de Villiers
PMCID: PMC1332909  PMID: 16812158

Abstract

In two experiments, pigeons' key pecking for food on concurrent variable-interval schedules was punished with electric shock according to concurrent variable-interval punishment schedules. With unequal frequencies of food but equal rates of punishment associated with the two keys and at several intensities of shock, the response and time allocation of all six pigeons overmatched the obtained relative frequency of food. The overmatching was predicted by a subtractive model of the interaction between punishment and positive reinforcement but not by two alternative models. Increases in the k and re parameters of the generalized matching law could not account for the observed shifts in preference.

Keywords: matching, punishment, shock, concurrent schedule, overmatching, undermatching, 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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