Within-session transitions in choice: a structural and quantitative analysis

The present study used within-session transitions between two concurrent schedules to evaluate choice in transition. Eight female Long-Evans rats were trained to respond under concurrent schedules of reinforcement during experimental sessions that lasted 22 hr. The generalized matching equation was used to model steady-state behavior at the end of each session, while transitional behavior that emerged following the change in reinforcement schedules was modeled using a logistic equation. The generalized matching and logistic equations were appropriate models for behavior generated during single-session transitions. A local analysis of behavior on the two response alternatives during acquisition was used to determine the source of preference as revealed in response ratios. The number of "low-response" visits, those containing three to five responses, remained stable. Preference ratios largely reflected a sharp increase in the number of visits with long response bouts on the rich alternative and a decrease in the number of such visits to the leaner alternative.