Abstract
Pigeons were trained on a trial procedure. A trial began with the illumination of a pecking key by a white light. After a fixed interval, a key peck could turn the key to one of two equi-probable colors and produce a delayed trial outcome—an equi-probable occurrence of either reinforcement or nonreinforcement. After a trial, the key turned dark and the trial ended. The response could be made into an observing response by correlating the key colors with the outcomes. Response rates in the fixed interval then increased to a level greater than when the colors and outcomes were uncorrelated. In another phase, the response produced only the colors. The trial outcomes occurred some seconds after the fixed interval without a response being required. Correlating the colors with the outcomes again increased response rates. In a second experiment, a further condition was added in which reinforcement was the outcome on every trial. Response rates were lower than when there were equi-probable reinforcement and nonreinforcement outcomes with correlated colors, and about the same as when there were equi-probable outcomes with uncorrelated colors. The results suggest that stimuli providing information about the probability of reinforcement are themselves reinforcing.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Brown P. L., Jenkins H. M. Auto-shaping of the pigeon's key-peck. J Exp Anal Behav. 1968 Jan;11(1):1–8. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1968.11-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- PERKINS C. C., Jr The stimulus conditions which follow learned responses. Psychol Rev. 1955 Sep;62(5):341–348. doi: 10.1037/h0040520. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- PROKASY W. F., Jr The acquisition of observing responses in the absence of differential external reinforcement. J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1956 Apr;49(2):131–134. doi: 10.1037/h0046740. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYCKOFF L. B., Jr The role of observing responses in discrimination learning. Psychol Rev. 1952 Nov;59(6):431–442. doi: 10.1037/h0053932. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYCKOFF L. B. Toward a quantitative theory of secondary reinforcement. Psychol Rev. 1959 Jan;66(1):68–78. doi: 10.1037/h0046882. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]