Skip to main content
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1982 Nov;38(3):313–319. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-313

Choice, relative reinforcer duration, and the changeover ratio

Roger M Dunn
PMCID: PMC1347870  PMID: 16812302

Abstract

Relative reinforcer duration was varied in concurrent schedules with a fixed-ratio four changeover requirement. The schedule in effect after each reinforcer was randomly chosen. For all three pigeons, relative response rates overmatched relative reinforcer durations. Time allocation was less extreme and, on the average, matched relative reinforcer duration. In a subsequent manipulation, the level of preference was shown to depend on the size of the changeover requirement. These results are similar to those from related unequal reinforcement-frequency procedures.

Keywords: reinforcer duration, choice, concurrent schedules, changeover ratio, key peck, pigeons

Full text

PDF
315

Selected References

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

  1. Baum W. M. On two types of deviation from the matching law: bias and undermatching. J Exp Anal Behav. 1974 Jul;22(1):231–242. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1974.22-231. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brownstein A. J. Concurrent schedules of response-independent reinforcement: duration of a reinforcing stimulus. J Exp Anal Behav. 1971 Mar;15(2):211–214. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1971.15-211. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CATANIA A. C. Concurrent performances: a baseline for the study of reinforcement magnitude. J Exp Anal Behav. 1963 Apr;6:299–300. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1963.6-299. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fantino E., Squires N., Delbrück N., Peterson C. Choice behavior and the accessibility of the reinforcer. J Exp Anal Behav. 1972 Jul;18(1):35–43. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1972.18-35. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Findley J. D. Preference and Switching under Concurrent Scheduling. J Exp Anal Behav. 1958 Apr;1(2):123–144. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1958.1-123. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Herrnstein R. J. On the law of effect. J Exp Anal Behav. 1970 Mar;13(2):243–266. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1970.13-243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Keller J. V., Gollub L. R. Duration and rate of reinforcement as determinants of concurrent responding. J Exp Anal Behav. 1977 Sep;28(2):145–153. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1977.28-145. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mariner R. W., Thomas D. R. Reinforcement duration and the peak shift in post-discrimination gradients. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Sep;12(5):759–766. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-759. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pliskoff S. S., Cicerone R., Nelson T. D. Local response-rate constancy on concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1978 May;29(3):431–446. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.29-431. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pliskoff S. S., Fetterman J. G. Undermatching and overmatching: The fixed-ratio changeover requirement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1981 Jul;36(1):21–27. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1981.36-21. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. SEGAL E. F. A RAPID PROCEDURE FOR GENERATING RANDOM REINFORCEMENT INTERVALS ON VI AND VR TAPES. J Exp Anal Behav. 1964 Jan;7:20–20. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1964.7-20. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schneider J. W. Reinforcer effectiveness as a function of reinforcer rate and magnitude: a comparison of concurrent performances. J Exp Anal Behav. 1973 Nov;20(3):461–471. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1973.20-461. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stubbs D. A., Pliskoff S. S. Concurrent responding with fixed relative rate of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Nov;12(6):887–895. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-887. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Todorov J. C. Interaction of frequency and magnitude of reinforcement on concurrent performances. J Exp Anal Behav. 1973 May;19(3):451–458. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1973.19-451. [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