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Does the terminal-link effect depend on duration or reinforcement rate?
Randolph C Grace1, Orn Bragason
1Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand.r.grace@psyc.canterbury.ac.nz
Behavioural Processes
|June 9, 2004
Summary
The terminal-link effect in behavioral economics is driven by changes in the duration of the final link, not the overall rate of reinforcement. This finding clarifies how animals make choices in concurrent schedules.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Animal Behavior
- Decision Making
Background:
- The terminal-link effect describes increased preference for richer schedules as their values rise.
- Prior research confounded terminal-link duration and overall reinforcement rate, hindering understanding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate the roles of terminal-link duration and overall reinforcement rate in the terminal-link effect.
- To test predictions from the contextual choice model versus delay-reduction theory.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted using concurrent chains schedules.
- Variable-duration and constant-duration schedules were employed to independently manipulate duration and reinforcement rate.
- Behavioral preference was measured under different schedule conditions.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1 showed the terminal-link effect with variable-duration schedules but not constant-duration schedules when reinforcement rate was manipulated.
- Experiment 2 demonstrated the terminal-link effect with constant-duration schedules when duration was manipulated.
- Results indicate the effect is sensitive to duration changes, not reinforcement rate.
Conclusions:
- The terminal-link effect is primarily influenced by terminal-link duration.
- Findings support the contextual choice model over delay-reduction theory.
- This research clarifies the mechanisms underlying choice behavior in complex reinforcement schedules.