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Related Experiment Videos

Performance in continuously available multiple schedules.

D Elliffe, M Davison

    Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
    |November 1, 1985
    PubMed
    Summary
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    Pigeons on continuous access schedules showed overmatching, meaning response rates exceeded reinforcer rates. This contrasts with shorter sessions, indicating continuous access alters reinforcement learning in pigeons.

    Area of Science:

    • Behavioral psychology
    • Animal behavior
    • Operant conditioning

    Background:

    • Multiple schedules of reinforcement are used to study choice behavior.
    • Previous research indicated undermatching or matching in shorter sessions.
    • The role of continuous access versus limited sessions in reinforcement schedules was unclear.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate pigeon behavior under continuous access to two-component variable-interval schedules.
    • To examine how unequal reinforcer rates in components affect response rate ratios.
    • To test theories of multiple-schedule performance regarding the limits of matching.

    Main Methods:

    • Three pigeons were exposed to two-component multiple variable-interval schedules with varying reinforcer rates.

    Related Experiment Videos

  • Continuous access to food reinforcement was provided in home cages.
  • Experimental conditions were replicated after one year, with additional molecular data collection.

    • Main Results:

    • When reinforcer rates between components were unequal, response rate ratios were more extreme than reinforcer rate ratios (overmatching).
    • This overmatching persisted across conditions and was observed in a replication.
    • Findings contradicted previous results from shorter sessions and suggested overmatching is not due to deprivation fluctuations.

    Conclusions:

    • Continuous access to reinforcement in multiple schedules leads to overmatching in pigeons.
    • This challenges theories predicting that matching cannot be exceeded in multiple-schedule performance.
    • The duration of access significantly influences the observed patterns of choice behavior.