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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1994 Jan;61(1):35–44. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1994.61-35

Response acquisition by Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) with delayed visual reinforcement

Kennon A Lattal, Barbara Metzger
PMCID: PMC1334352  PMID: 16812724

Abstract

Male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, swam through a ring in an aquarium, breaking a photocell beam and initiating an unsignaled, resetting delay interval. Following delays of 0 s, 10 s, or 25 s, a 15-s mirror presentation released an aggressive display by the fish. Swimming through the ring increased in the absence of either a period of acclimatization to the reinforcer (analogous to magazine training when appetitive reinforcers are used) or explicit training of the response by the experimenters. Response rates were a decreasing function of delay duration. Other fish exposed to a schedule of response-independent mirror presentations failed to acquire and maintain the response. The results demonstrate the robustness and generality of the phenomenon of response acquisition with delayed reinforcement. They further qualify earlier observations about behavioral mechanisms involved in the phenomenon.

Keywords: response acquisition, delay of reinforcement, visual reinforcers, mirror image, swimming, Siamese fighting fish

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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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