The structure of random ratio responding in humans

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Operant conditioning

Background:

• Human performance on schedules of reinforcement is a key area in behavioral psychology.
• Previous research has primarily focused on overall response rates, potentially overlooking nuanced response structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the rate and structure of human responding under random ratio (RR) schedules.
• To identify distinct response patterns and their relationship to reinforcement schedules.
• To compare human schedule performance with existing nonhuman data.

Main Methods:

• Four experiments were conducted using random ratio (RR) schedules of reinforcement.
• Three different analytical methods were employed to examine response patterns.
• Data were collected on human participants' responding.

Main Results:

• Response rates on RR schedules were highest at intermediate ratio values (e.g., RR-30).
• Two distinct responding types were identified: "response-initiation" and "within-burst" responding.
• "Response-initiation" was highest at lower ratios (RR-10), while "within-burst" rates showed less variation or were higher at longer ratios.

Conclusions:

• Human schedule performance is a complex product of at least two distinct response aspects.
• "Response-initiation" is sensitive to reinforcement rates, whereas "within-burst" responding is less sensitive to schedule characteristics.
• These findings necessitate a re-evaluation of human schedule-controlled behaviors that assume response homogeneity.