Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Strict and random alternation in concurrent variable-interval schedules.

Douglas Elliffe1, Michael Davison

  • 1Department of Psychology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. d.elliffe@auckland.ac.nz

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|April 17, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Effects of initial-link schedule on suboptimal choice are modulated by bias.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same author

Revaluing overselected stimuli: Effects of degree of posttraining extinction on stimulus overselectivity.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2025
Same author

Generalization across dimensions: A model for three-alternative choice.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2025
Same author

'Good communication and good team building, it's half of the work in managing a player': how team doctors perceive communication in the European professional men's football context.

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine·2025
Same author

Systematic Video Analysis of ACL Injuries in Male Professional English Soccer Players: A Study of 124 Cases.

Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine·2025
Same author

Cost does not prevent pigeons from investing in the future.

Behavioural processes·2024
Same journal

The Genoeconomics of Impulsive Intertemporal Choice: A Critical Review.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Shaping the extinction burst: Increasing its probability and preventing its emergence across topographies.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Evaluating the combined effects of effort and probability on monetary discounting.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

An improved translational approach to studying persistence-strengthening effects of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Interactions between the effects of food and water motivating operations on concurrent food- and water-reinforced responding in mice.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Odor-visual and visual-visual matching to sample with dogs.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
See all related articles

Pigeon behavior on concurrent schedules was studied. Signaling the next schedule reduced sensitivity to reinforcer rates, suggesting indirect control over choices in variable-interval schedules.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral science
  • Animal behavior
  • Operant conditioning

Background:

  • Pigeons are often used to study choice behavior.
  • Concurrent schedules of reinforcement are used to study how animals allocate their time and responses between different options.
  • Understanding how signals influence choice behavior is important for behavioral economics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how different arrangements of alternation between concurrent schedules affect pigeon behavior.
  • To examine the role of signaling the postswitch alternative on choice behavior and sensitivity to reinforcement.
  • To determine if signaling influences the indirect mechanisms of choice.

Main Methods:

  • Six pigeons were trained on concurrent variable-interval schedules.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Four different arrangements of alternation between schedules were used: strict/random alternation and signaled/unsignaled postswitch alternatives.
  • Generalized-matching analyses were used to assess response and time allocation.
  • Interchangeover times and behavior preceding postswitch alternatives were recorded.

    • Main Results:

    • Random alternation eliminated the typical lower sensitivity of response allocation compared to time allocation.
    • Signaling the postswitch alternative biased preference towards the signaled color and increased sensitivity to reinforcer rates.
    • Interchangeover times were shorter when the postswitch alternative was signaled as different.
    • These signaling effects were reduced or eliminated when reinforcer ratios were calculated separately for each postswitch alternative.

    Conclusions:

    • Behavior is indirectly influenced by the postswitch alternative.
    • Signaling affects behavior by altering the discriminable distributions of reinforcers obtained before each alternative.
    • The fundamental relationships between choice and relative reinforcement remain consistent regardless of signaling.