Matching by horses on several concurrent variable-interval schedules

Area of Science:

• Animal Behavior
• Behavioral Psychology
• Comparative Psychology

Background:

• The matching law describes response allocation in concurrent schedules of reinforcement.
• Previous research has established the matching law in various species, but its application to horses was less explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the applicability of the matching law to horses under concurrent variable-interval schedules.
• To analyze the response characteristics and reinforcement patterns in equine behavior.

Main Methods:

• Three horses were trained to press a lever with their lip using successive approximations.
• Horses were exposed to pretraining and experimental sessions involving concurrent variable-interval schedules.
• Data analysis involved fitting regression lines to determine the relationship between response rates and reinforcement rates.

Main Results:

• A close matching relationship was observed between the relative rates of responding and reinforcement in horses.
• Over 97% of the variance in behavior was accounted for when fitting data with regression lines.
• The study identified specific response characteristics relevant to equine operant conditioning.

Conclusions:

• The findings expand the generality of the matching law to include horses.
• This research provides empirical support for the matching law in a novel species.
• The results contribute to understanding operant behavior and reinforcement principles in equids.