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Differences, not ratios, control choice in an experimental analogue to foraging.
1Department of Psychology, 0109, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, USA. efantino@ucsd.edu
Psychological Science
|March 29, 2001
Summary
Choice behavior in pigeons demonstrates that the difference in delays to reinforcement, not the ratio, influences decisions. This finding supports delay-reduction and foraging theories in behavioral economics.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Animal Cognition
- Decision Making
Background:
- Most theories posit choice is governed by the ratio of delays to reinforcement, aligning with Weber's law.
- Delay-reduction theory and optimal-foraging theory predict choice depends on the difference, not ratio, of delays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test whether choice behavior is governed by the ratio or difference between delays to reinforcement.
- To evaluate predictions of delay-reduction and optimal-foraging theories using a pigeon choice paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons chose between accepting or rejecting two different delays to reinforcement.
- Experimental conditions manipulated delays to either maintain a constant difference or a constant ratio.
Main Results:
- Acceptance rate of the longer delay was solely dependent on the difference between delays.
- The ratio between delays did not significantly affect the pigeons' choice behavior.
Conclusions:
- Findings support delay-reduction and optimal-foraging theories, indicating choice is sensitive to delay differences.
- Behavioral economics models of choice may need refinement to incorporate delay differences more prominently.