Choice: Effects of changeover schedules on concurrent performance

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Operant conditioning
• Animal behavior

Background:

• Concurrent schedules of reinforcement involve presenting multiple independent schedules simultaneously.
• Temporal separation of schedule components can influence response patterns.
• Understanding choice behavior under concurrent schedules is crucial for behavioral analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of temporal separation on concurrent schedule performance.
• To examine how reinforcement rates influence responding on both main and changeover keys.
• To test a 'sampling' interpretation of changeover responding.

Main Methods:

• Concurrent schedules were implemented with interval schedules on a changeover key to create temporal separation.
• Rates of responding on main and changeover keys were recorded under varying reinforcement rates.
• A third experiment manipulated reinforcement frequency in one component while the other was in extinction.

Main Results:

• Sensitivity of main-key performance decreased with increased temporal separation.
• Changeover performance showed a monotonic relationship with the ratio of reinforcement rates.
• Changeover responding varied even when the reinforcement ratio was constant, suggesting factors beyond relative rates.

Conclusions:

• Changeover performance can be explained by molar measures of reinforcement.
• Animals sample available activities at rates determined by relative reinforcement rates.
• Temporal separation influences the sensitivity of choice behavior to reinforcement contingencies.