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Choice, changing over, and reinforcement delays.

T A Shahan¹, K A Lattal

¹West Virginia University, USA. tshahan@cisunix.unh.edu

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|February 24, 2001

Summary

Pigeons

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Area of Science:

Behavioral psychology
Animal behavior studies

Background:

Concurrent schedules of reinforcement are common in animal behavior research.
Understanding delays to reinforcement is crucial for predicting choice behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the independent effects of two delays associated with switching between variable-interval schedules.
To determine how these delays influence pigeons' switching behavior.

Main Methods:

Three experiments using pigeons exposed to concurrent variable-interval schedules.
Manipulating changeover delay and travel time requirements.
Analyzing changeover rates as a function of different delay parameters.

Main Results:

Changeover rates decreased as a negative power function of the total obtained delay.
The delay following a stimulus change had a minor effect on overall changeover rates.
Post-changeover responding patterns were influenced by the stimulus-change-to-reinforcer delay.

Conclusions:

The total obtained delay is the primary driver of changes in switching behavior.
The immediate stimulus-change-to-reinforcer delay influences the pattern of responding after a switch.
Findings contribute to understanding choice and reinforcement in behavioral economics.

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