Matching in concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Animal behavior

Background:

• The matching law quantitatively describes response allocation under concurrent schedules of reinforcement.
• Previous research has primarily focused on positive and negative reinforcement schedules within this framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules adhere to the principles of the matching law.
• To determine how rats allocate responses between two levers under concurrent avoidance conditions.

Main Methods:

• Two rats were initially trained using variable-interval avoidance schedules.
• Subsequently, rats were exposed to concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules with two levers.
• Responses on each lever canceled scheduled electric shocks independently.

Main Results:

• Rats' response ratios and time allocation between levers approximated the ratio of shocks avoided on each schedule.
• The allocation of responses did not match the ratio of shocks received.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules can be integrated into the quantitative framework of the matching law.
• Behavioral allocation in avoidance learning aligns with predictions derived from the matching law, specifically concerning avoided outcomes.