Choice and transformed interreinforcement intervals

Pigeons chose between two aperiodic, time-based schedules of reinforcement. The arithmetic mean interreinforcement interval of the first schedule was short, but the harmonic mean was long, whereas the arithmetic mean interreinforcement interval of the second schedule was long, but the harmonic mean was short. The pigeons preferred the schedule with the shorter harmonic mean in a concurrent-chains procedure when a terminal link ended after the first scheduled reinforcer had been gained on a terminal-link entry, but reversed their preferences, such that they preferred the schedule with the shorter arithmetic mean, when the terminal links ended after a fixed duration of exposure to the schedule. Moreover, the pigeons preferred the schedule with the shorter arithmetic mean in a two-key concurrent variable-interval variable-interval procedure, as well as in a concurrent variable-time variable-time, changeover-key procedure. The data suggest that an aggregate property of a schedule may not yield valid information about the responding that schedule will maintain as a choice alternative.