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. 1996 May;65(3):619–641. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1996.65-619

Response-dependent prechoice effects on foraging-related choice

Wendy A Williams, Edmund Fantino
PMCID: PMC1349956  PMID: 16812812

Abstract

Three experiments explored the influence of prechoice events on pigeons' preference. In two of three studies, a fixed-interval 200-second prechoice period preceded the initial links of a concurrent chain in which outcomes differed either (a) in terms of the delay to food or (b) in terms of amount of food and delay to food. In Experiment 3, the prechoice period preceded the initial links that provided a choice between a small single food presentation and two identical, more delayed food presentations. In all three cases, obtained choice proportions did not vary as a function of prechoice duration. These results suggest that a local-contextual view adequately describes the foraging context; they also have implications for the appropriate formulation of the delay-reduction theory of conditioned reinforcement and rate-maximizing views of optimal foraging theory.

Keywords: delay-reduction theory, rate maximization, optimal foraging theory, contextual choice, concurrent chains, key peck, 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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