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Related Experiment Videos

Choice in a variable environment: every reinforcer counts.

M Davison1, W M Baum

  • 1Psychology Department, University of Auckland, New Zealand. m.davison@auckland.ac.nz

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|August 31, 2000
PubMed
Summary
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Pigeons rapidly adjusted to changing reinforcer ratios, with higher overall rates leading to faster learning. Carryover effects from previous components influenced current choices, impacting behavioral adjustments.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral science
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Pigeons were trained on concurrent-schedule tasks with varying reinforcer ratios.
  • Components occurred irregularly, lacking distinct signals for different ratios.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how pigeons adjust their response allocation under changing concurrent-schedule reinforcer ratios.
  • To examine the influence of overall reinforcer rate and component reinforcer number on learning speed and sensitivity.

Main Methods:

  • Six pigeons were exposed to conditions with different reinforcer ratios and overall rates.
  • Data were collected over 35 sessions, analyzing response allocation and sensitivity to ratio changes.
  • The effect of carryover from prior components was assessed.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Response allocation adjusted quickly within components, with sensitivity leveling off around eight reinforcers.
  • Higher overall reinforcer rates accelerated adjustment and increased sensitivity.
  • Confirming reinforcers had diminishing effects, while disconfirming reinforcers had significant impacts.

Conclusions:

  • Pigeon's choice behavior demonstrates rapid adaptation to changing reinforcer schedules.
  • Overall reinforcer rate significantly modulates the speed and extent of behavioral adjustment.
  • Carryover effects from previous components play a role in subsequent choice behavior.