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. 1985 Mar;43(2):235–241. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1985.43-235

Reinforcement of probe responses and acquisition of stimulus control in fading procedures

Lanny Fields
PMCID: PMC1348133  PMID: 16812415

Abstract

Stimulus control of pigeons' key pecking was transferred from colors to lines by the method of stimulus fading. Fading was conducted with the addition of probes consisting of the line stimuli presented alone at each fading level. Probe responding was used to measure stimulus-control acquisition by the lines. Effects of reinforcement and nonreinforcement of probe responding upon acquisition of stimulus control were assessed using a single-organism repeated-acquisition design in which three fades were conducted serially. Probe responding was not reinforced in the first and third fade but was in the second. Reinforcement of probe responding substantially reduced the number of fading levels needed to complete fading. The outcome of a control experiment ruled out the possibility of accounting for these results in terms of the specific stimuli used in each fade or in terms of the sequential exposure to the three discriminations. Although probes permitted measurement of stimulus-control acquisition in fading, a measurement/acquisition interaction was also present.

Keywords: stimulus fading, probe stimuli, measurement/acquisition interaction, repeated acquisition procedure, reinforcement of probe responding, discrimination learning, stimulus control transfer, key pecking, pigeons

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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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