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. 1969 May;12(3):375–383. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-375

Delayed reinforcement versus reinforcement after a fixed interval1

Allen J Neuringer
PMCID: PMC1338597  PMID: 16811360

Abstract

When interreinforcement intervals were equated, pigeons demonstrated little or no preference between reinforcement after a delay interval and reinforcement presented on a fixed-interval schedule. The small preferences sometimes found for the fixed interval (a) were considerably smaller than when the delay and fixed intervals differed in duration, and (b) were caused by the absence of light during the delay. These results suggest that the effects of delayed reinforcement on prior responding can be reproduced by imposing a temporally equal fixed-interval schedule in place of the delay; and, therefore, that the time between a response and reinforcement controls the probability of that response, whether other responses intervene or not.

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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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