Preference and resistance to change with constant-duration schedule components.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Previous research on concurrent chains and multiple schedules used different component durations and reinforcer presentations.
• Grace and Nevin (1997) explored preference and resistance in variable-duration components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate preference and resistance to change in constant-duration components within concurrent schedules.
• To compare the sensitivity of preference and resistance measures to reinforcer ratios under different component durations.

Main Methods:

• Eight conditions varied reinforcer rates in constant-duration components.
• A generalized matching law analysis was used to assess preference.
• Resistance to change was tested using intercomponent food, extinction, and combined conditions.

Main Results:

• Initial-link preference strongly over-matched terminal-link reinforcer ratios.
• Resistance to change was greater in richer components and showed additive effects across tests.
• Resistance sensitivity to reinforcer ratios was lower than preference sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Constant-duration components enhance the sensitivity of both preference and resistance measures compared to variable-duration components.
• Preference and resistance appear to be independent yet convergent measures of reinforcement history.
• Findings support the utility of constant-duration components for studying reinforcement effects.