Residence time and choice in concurrent foraging schedules.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Animal Behavior
• Operant Conditioning

Background:

• Concurrent-schedule procedures model choice behavior.
• The "some patches are empty" procedure investigates foraging decisions.
• Understanding patch residence time is crucial for choice behavior research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pigeon's time and response allocation in a concurrent-schedule procedure.
• To examine how reinforcer probability and arrival rate influence foraging decisions.
• To compare observed allocation with optimal foraging strategies.

Main Methods:

• Five pigeons were trained on a concurrent-schedule task with two alternatives signaled by keylights.
• A switching key allowed travel between alternatives.
• Reinforcer availability was manipulated by varying probabilities (rho) and arrival rates (lambda).

Main Results:

• Both response and time allocation increased as reinforcer arrival rates (lambda) decreased and probabilities (rho) increased.
• Pigeons' residence times were longer than predicted by optimal foraging models.
• Allocation ratios consistently undermatched reinforcer arrival time and frequency ratios.

Conclusions:

• Pigeon's allocation behavior is sensitive to reinforcer probability and arrival rates.
• Observed undermatching suggests deviations from strict optimal foraging in this paradigm.
• Findings contribute to understanding decision-making under variable reinforcement schedules.