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Rapid timing of transitions in inter-reinforcement interval duration in infants
V Rivière1, J C. Darcheville, C Clément
1UFR Psychologie, Unité de Recherches sur l'évolution, Des comportements et apprentissage, Université de Lille III, BP 149 59653, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France
Insights
Infants quickly adjust their wait times when the fixed-interval (FI) schedule changes, demonstrating rapid timing effects. This rapid adjustment in response to new reinforcement schedules is a key finding.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Animal learning theory
Background:
- Infants trained on fixed-interval (FI) schedules demonstrate adjustable post-reinforcement pauses.
- Stable FI cumulative records require numerous sessions at a specific parameter value.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze transitions between different FI values in infant subjects.
- To investigate rapid timing effects during unpredictable changes in reinforcement schedules.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of infant behavior during transitions between FI schedules (10s to 80s).
- Observation of wait times and response patterns following changes in FI values.
Main Results:
- Infants exhibited rapid timing effects when transitioning between FI values.
- Wait times increased in the initial session with a new FI value, followed by quick, accurate adjustments.
- Observed dynamic effects mirrored those seen in animal studies on rapid timing.
Conclusions:
- Infants show a rapid capacity to adjust timing behavior in response to changing reinforcement schedules.
- The observed rapid timing effects in infants are comparable to those in animal models.
- Unpredictable schedule changes elicit swift behavioral adaptations in infants.
Abstract:
Infants trained on FI schedules are able to adjust their post-reinforcement pause, but many sessions at a given parameter value are necessary before the FI cumulative record appears stable. We analysed transitions from one FI value to another from our earlier experiments. Infants were exposed to FI schedules from 10 to 80 s. Under these schedules, they showed long post-reinforcement pauses with most intervals involving the emission of a single, reinforced response. The passage from one FI value to another was unpredictable for infants. We observed rapid timing effects during transitions (passage from one FI value to another, from FI 10 s to FI 20 s, etc.). Wait times increased during the first session of the new FI value, and accurate adjustments of wait times quickly appeared. Dynamic effects observed were similar to those obtained from animals in experiments on rapid-timing effects.