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Stimulus properties of fixed-interval responses.

I B Buchman, M D Zeiler

    Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
    |November 1, 1975
    PubMed
    Summary

    Behavioral responses in a chained schedule did not change as predicted by food reinforcement schedules. Instead, response rates in terminal components were influenced by the number of responses in the initial fixed interval, acting as a discriminative stimulus.

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    Area of Science:

    • Behavioral psychology
    • Operant conditioning
    • Schedule-induced behavior

    Background:

    • Chained schedules of reinforcement involve sequential components where behavior in one component influences the consequences in another.
    • Fixed-interval (FI) schedules involve reinforcement after a set amount of time, often leading to a scalloped pattern of responding.
    • Variable-interval (VI) schedules provide reinforcement after unpredictable time durations, typically resulting in steady response rates.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate how response number in a fixed-interval (FI) component of a chained schedule influences behavior in a subsequent terminal component.
    • To determine if differential food presentation, contingent on response count in the FI component, modifies behavior as predicted.
    • To examine the role of response number as a discriminative stimulus in controlling terminal component performance.

    Main Methods:

    • A chained schedule of reinforcement was employed, with an initial FI component linked to a terminal component.
    • The terminal component involved either a variable-interval (VI) schedule of food presentation or extinction.
    • The contingency in the terminal component was determined by the number of responses emitted during the FI component, with conditions requiring either exceeding or falling below a specific response count.

    Main Results:

    • Responses in the FI component did not consistently shift in the direction required to obtain food; often, they shifted in the opposite direction.
    • This pattern suggests that differential food presentation did not effectively modify the behavior in the FI component according to the specified requirements.
    • However, behavior in the terminal component demonstrated sensitivity to the relationship between the number of responses in the FI component and food availability.

    Conclusions:

    • The number of responses emitted in the FI component did not serve as a reliable predictor for obtaining reinforcement in the terminal component.
    • Response rate in the terminal component was modulated by the proximity of the FI response number to the requirement for food presentation.
    • The response number in the FI component functioned as a discriminative stimulus, effectively controlling subsequent behavior in the terminal component.

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