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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1967 Jul;10(4):395–402. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1967.10-395

Conditioning of the aggressive behavior of pigeons by a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement1

N H Azrin, R R Hutchinson
PMCID: PMC1338343  PMID: 6067961

Abstract

Operant reinforcement of aggression was studied in food-deprived pigeons by delivering food for attacks against a target pigeon. The food was delivered according to a fixed-interval schedule and attack behavior was recorded automatically. Attack could be conditioned and extinguished, and the proportion of time spent in attack was a direct function of the frequency of reinforcement of the attack. The fixed-interval schedule produced an increasing rate of attack during the interval between food reinforcements. This positive curvature was an inverse function of the duration of the interval. The findings revealed that the duration and temporal patterning of the complex social behavior of attack can be influenced in a substantial and predictable manner by the schedule and frequency of operant reinforcement.

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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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