Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1971 Sep;16(2):155–160. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1971.16-155

Discrete-trials spaced responding in the pigeon: the dependence of efficient performance on the availability of a stimulus for collateral pecking1

Barry Schwartz, David R Williams
PMCID: PMC1333860  PMID: 16811538

Abstract

Four pigeons were exposed to a discrete-trial schedule in which only responses spaced by at least 6 sec were reinforced. After 45, fifty-trial sessions, they failed to meet the spacing requirement in over 90% of the trials. When an alternative, non-contingent key (pecks on which had no consequence) was illuminated concurrently with the first key, the spacing performance of the three pigeons that pecked the non-contingent key improved so that they were obtaining 75% of the possible reinforcers. These data demonstrated the importance of collateral behavior in mediating spaced performance. It was suggested that pigeons may successfully refrain from responding on the spacing procedure only when another stimulus correlated with reinforcement is available for pecking, and that the form that collateral behavior takes may, in general, be non-arbitrary, and species dependent.

Full text

PDF
155

Selected References

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

  1. 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]
  2. Laties V. G., Weiss B., Weiss A. B. Further observations on overt "mediating" behavior and the discrimination of time. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Jan;12(1):43–57. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-43. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. McMillan D. E. Reinforcement contingencies maintaining collateral responding under a DRL schedule. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 May;12(3):413–422. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. REYNOLDS G. S., CATANIA A. C. Behavioral contrast with fixed interval and low-rate reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1961 Oct;4:387–391. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1961.4-387. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. REYNOLDS G. S., CATANIA A. C. Temporal discrimination in pigeons. Science. 1962 Jan 26;135(3500):314–315. doi: 10.1126/science.135.3500.314. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. REYNOLDS G. S. TEMPORALLY SPACED RESPONDING BY PIGEONS: DEVELOPMENT AND EFFECTS OF DEPRIVATION AND EXTINCTION. J Exp Anal Behav. 1964 Nov;7:415–421. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1964.7-415. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Reynolds G. S. Discrimination and emission of temporal intervals by pigeons. J Exp Anal Behav. 1966 Jan;9(1):65–68. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1966.9-65. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Williams D. R., Williams H. Auto-maintenance in the pigeon: sustained pecking despite contingent non-reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Jul;12(4):511–520. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-511. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Zuriff G. E. Collateral responding during differential reinforcement of low rates. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Nov;12(6):971–976. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES