The contribution of an added counter to a fixed-ratio schedule

Although previous research showed that a visual counter increased the rate of responding on a large fixed-ratio schedule, a theoretical analysis of the factors responsible for fixed-ratio performance suggests that the primary control by number of responses since reinforcement is to weaken the performance. The present experiment employed a multiple schedule in which the same fixed-ratio value alternated with and without an added counter. It tested the hypothesis that the differential reinforcement of high-rate responding masked the attenuation of the fixed-ratio performance from the unoptimal discriminative control produced by the fixed relation between number of responses and reinforcement. In the present experiment the postreinforcement pause was consistently longer in the components with the added counter, while running rates remained comparable between the components of the multiple schedule. Both components of the multiple schedule involved differential reinforcement of high-rate responding while only the components with the added counter amplified the discriminative control by number of pecks since reinforcement.