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Resistance to change produced by access to fixed-delay versus variable-delay terminal links
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|July 1, 1986
Summary
Pigeons showed higher response rates and greater resistance to change when reinforcement was variable rather than fixed. This suggests variable schedules enhance the value of conditioned reinforcement, impacting choice and persistence in behavior.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Animal Cognition
- Operant Conditioning
Background:
- Studies on reinforcement schedules explore how timing and variability affect behavior.
- Concurrent-chains schedules reveal preferences for certain reinforcement delivery methods.
- Understanding conditioned reinforcement is key to explaining complex choice behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how variable-delay versus fixed-delay terminal links influence responding in pigeons.
- To examine the resistance to change of behaviors maintained by different terminal-link schedules.
- To assess the role of reinforcement immediacy in conditioned reinforcing potency.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons were trained on a multiple schedule of two two-link chain schedules.
- Initial links (variable-interval 60-s) led to terminal links with either fixed or variable delays for food.
- Response rates and resistance to change (using satiation and extinction) were measured.
Main Results:
- Higher response rates were observed in initial links preceding variable-delay terminal links.
- Behaviors maintained by variable-delay terminal links showed greater resistance to extinction than those maintained by fixed-delay links.
- Reinforcement immediacy appears to influence the conditioned reinforcing properties of terminal link access.
Conclusions:
- Variable-delay schedules yield higher rates and more persistent responding compared to fixed-delay schedules.
- Findings align with concurrent-chains research, supporting the role of reinforcement immediacy.
- Choice and resistance to change may stem from the same underlying mechanism related to reinforcement effectiveness.
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