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Related Experiment Videos

Choice and terminal-link response topography.

S Starin

    Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
    |March 1, 1989
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Pigeons showed a preference for pecking over treadling in concurrent-chains schedules, especially when pecking led to shorter delays to reinforcement. This suggests response topography influences choice behavior.

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    Area of Science:

    • Behavioral Psychology
    • Animal Behavior
    • Operant Conditioning

    Background:

    • Concurrent-chains schedules are used to study choice behavior in animals.
    • Previous research suggests pigeons may prefer certain response topographies over others.
    • The role of reinforcement delay and response effort in choice is a key area of investigation.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate pigeon choice behavior under concurrent-chains schedules with different terminal-link response requirements.
    • To examine the influence of terminal-link schedule parameters and response topography on choice proportions.
    • To evaluate the predictive accuracy of the delay-reduction hypothesis in this context.

    Main Methods:

    • Six pigeons were trained on concurrent-chains schedules.

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  • Initial links involved variable-interval schedules; terminal links involved paired variable-interval schedules with either pecking or treadling as the response.
  • Five pairs of terminal-link schedules were systematically varied to assess choice under different reinforcement delays.

    • Main Results:

    • Pigeons consistently chose the alternative associated with terminal-link pecking, regardless of schedule parameters.
    • Terminal-link pecking resulted in shorter delays to reinforcement compared to treadling.
    • The delay-reduction hypothesis offered only moderate accuracy in predicting behavior when response topographies differed.

    Conclusions:

    • Response topography, particularly pecking, is a significant factor in choice behavior under concurrent-chains schedules.
    • Shorter terminal-link delay to reinforcement for pecking contributes to the observed preference.
    • Quantitative models of choice behavior may need to incorporate response topography to be more complete.