Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1984 Jul;42(1):87–111. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1984.42-87

Delayed signal detection, differential reinforcement, and short-term memory in the pigeon.

P Harnett, D McCarthy, M Davison
PMCID: PMC1348047  PMID: 6481301

Abstract

In two discrete-trial delayed-detection experiments, six pigeons were trained on dependent concurrent variable-interval schedules. Pecking a red side key was reinforced when the brighter of two white lights (S1) had been presented on the center key, and pecking a green side key was reinforced when the duller of two white lights (S2) had been presented on the center key. Incorrect responses were red side-key pecks following S2 presentations and green side-key pecks following S1 presentations; these resulted in three-second blackouts. In Experiment 1, the time between presentation of S1 or S2 on the center key and the onset of the red and green side keys was varied nonsystematically from 0.06 seconds to 19.69 seconds across experimental conditions. Stimulus discriminability decreased as the stimulus-choice delay increased. A rectangular-hyperbolic function better described this decrease in discriminability over time than did a negative-exponential function. In Experiment 2, at each of three stimulus-choice delays (0.06, 3.85, and 10.36 seconds), relative reinforcer frequency for correct responses to the red and green side keys was varied by changing the values of the dependent concurrent variable-interval schedules. The sensitivity of choice to relative reinforcer frequency was independent of the decrease in stimulus discriminability with increasing stimulus-choice delay.

Full text

PDF
87

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. Chung S. H. Effects of delayed reinforcement in a concurrent situation. J Exp Anal Behav. 1965 Nov;8(6):439–444. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1965.8-439. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chung S. H., Herrnstein R. J. Choice and delay of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1967 Jan;10(1):67–74. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1967.10-67. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Davison M. C., Tustin R. D. The relation between the generalized matching law and signal-detection theory. J Exp Anal Behav. 1978 Mar;29(2):331–336. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.29-331. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DeLong R. E., Wasserman E. A. Effects of differential reinforcement expectancies on successive matching-to-sample performance in pigeons. J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process. 1981 Oct;7(4):394–412. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Donaldson W., Murdock B. B., Jr Criterion change in continuous recognition memory. J Exp Psychol. 1968 Mar;76(3):325–330. doi: 10.1037/h0025510. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dusoir T. Isobias curves in some detection tasks. Percept Psychophys. 1983 May;33(5):403–412. doi: 10.3758/bf03202890. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jans J. E., Catania A. C. Short-term remembering of discriminative stimuli in pigeons. J Exp Anal Behav. 1980 Sep;34(2):177–183. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1980.34-177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McCarthy D., Davison M. Independence of sensitivity to relative reinforcement rate and discriminability in signal detection. J Exp Anal Behav. 1980 Nov;34(3):273–284. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1980.34-273. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McCarthy D., Davison M. Independence of stimulus discriminability from absolute rate of reinforcement in a signal-detection procedure. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 May;37(3):371–382. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.37-371. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McCarthy D., Davison M., Jenkins P. E. Stimulus discriminability in free-operant and discrete-trial detection procedures. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Mar;37(2):199–215. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.37-199. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McCarthy D., Davison M. Signal probability, reinforcement and signal detection. J Exp Anal Behav. 1979 Nov;32(3):373–386. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.32-373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McCarthy D., Davison M. Towards a behavioral theory of bias in signal detection. Percept Psychophys. 1981 Apr;29(4):371–382. doi: 10.3758/bf03207347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McCarthy D. Measures of response bias at minimum-detectable luminance levels in the pigeon. J Exp Anal Behav. 1983 Jan;39(1):87–106. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1983.39-87. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Murdock B. B., Jr Signal-detection theory and short-term memory. J Exp Psychol. 1965 Nov;70(5):443–447. doi: 10.1037/h0022543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Murdock B. B., Jr The criterion problem in short-term memory. J Exp Psychol. 1966 Sep;72(3):317–324. doi: 10.1037/h0023646. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nevin J. A., Jenkins P., Whittaker S., Yarensky P. Reinforcement contingencies and signal detection. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Jan;37(1):65–79. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.37-65. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Norman D. A., Wickelgren W. A. Short-term recognition memory for single digits and pairs of digits. J Exp Psychol. 1965 Nov;70(5):479–489. doi: 10.1037/h0022544. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Shimp C. P. The local organization of behavior: discrimination of and memory for simple behavioral patterns. J Exp Anal Behav. 1981 Nov;36(3):303–315. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1981.36-303. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. 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]
  21. Stubbs D. A. Response bias and the discrimination of stimulus duration. J Exp Anal Behav. 1976 Mar;25(2):243–250. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1976.25-243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. White K. G., McKenzie J. Delayed stimulus control: recall for single and relational stimuli. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Nov;38(3):305–312. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-305. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wilkie D. M., Summers R. J., Spetch M. L. Effect of delay-interval stimuli on delayed symbolic matching to sample in the pigeon. J Exp Anal Behav. 1981 Mar;35(2):153–160. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1981.35-153. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Williams B. A., Fantino E. Effects on choice of reinforcement delay and conditioned reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1978 Jan;29(1):77–86. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.29-77. [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