Temporal constraint on choice: Sensitivity and bias in multiple schedules

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Operant conditioning
• Animal behavior studies

Background:

• Response ratios in multiple schedules of reinforcement are often insensitive to reinforcer ratios.
• Previous models did not fully account for the impact of extraneous reinforcement on behavior allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and test an analysis of response allocation in multiple schedules, considering concurrent programmed and extraneous reinforcement.
• To investigate how the reinforcement context, including extraneous reinforcers, modulates response allocation.

Main Methods:

• An experiment was conducted using pigeons responding under a multiple schedule.
• Analog extraneous reinforcement was programmed for an alternative response within each component of the multiple schedule.

Main Results:

• Sensitivity of response and time ratios to reinforcer ratios varied with the rate of extraneous reinforcers.
• Response bias between components was inversely related to the ratios of extraneous reinforcer rates.
• The proposed analysis accurately predicted data from the experiment and previous studies.

Conclusions:

• Behavior allocation in multiple-schedule components is determined by the relative values of concurrently available reinforcers.
• Extraneous reinforcement significantly modulates the effects of programmed reinforcement on response allocation.
• The developed analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of behavior dynamics in complex reinforcement schedules.