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Related Experiment Videos

Patterns of responding within sessions.

F K McSweeney1, J M Hinson

  • 1Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-4820.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|July 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Response rates in animals systematically changed during training sessions. A common pattern showed rates increasing then decreasing, influenced more by reinforcement schedules than the response type itself.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Operant Conditioning

Background:

  • Systematic changes in response rates across training sessions are common in animal learning.
  • Understanding these patterns is crucial for interpreting experimental results in behavioral research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the systematic changes in response rates observed during operant conditioning sessions.
  • To investigate the influence of reinforcement schedules versus response-related factors on these changes.

Main Methods:

  • Observed response rates in rats (lever/key pressing) and pigeons (treadle/key pecking) across multiple sessions.
  • Analyzed the function relating response rate to time within a session.
  • Examined the effects of session length and reinforcement rate on response patterns.

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Main Results:

  • A bitonic function (increase then decrease) was the most frequent pattern of response rate change.
  • Within-session response rate patterns appeared early in training, with peaks shifting and diminishing over time.
  • Reinforcement factors, not response factors, more strongly controlled the peak rate and decline steepness.

Conclusions:

  • Within-session response rate changes are a fundamental aspect of operant behavior.
  • These findings have significant theoretical and methodological implications for behavioral research and reinforcement theory.