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Effects of reinforcement context on choice.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1988
Summary
Choice behavior in concurrent schedules is influenced by reinforcement history, but only when that history is a result of prior choices. This finding is crucial for understanding decision-making under varying reinforcement conditions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Animal Behavior
- Operant Conditioning
Background:
- Understanding choice behavior in concurrent schedules is fundamental to behavioral psychology.
- Reinforcement history can significantly impact decision-making processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how successive reinforcement contexts affect choice in concurrent schedules.
- To determine if the source of reinforcement history (choice-dependent vs. independent) influences its impact on behavior.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments utilized concurrent variable-interval schedules and chain schedules in animal models.
- Manipulation of reinforcement rates in initial and terminal links to create distinct successive contexts.
- Behavioral choice was measured by key presses under different reinforcement conditions.
Main Results:
- Preference for initial-link schedules increased when their reinforcement rate exceeded the terminal-link rate.
- Preference shifted towards indifference when the initial-link reinforcement rate was lower than the terminal-link rate.
- The availability of a chain schedule did not alter choice between concurrent schedules, indicating context must be choice-produced.
Conclusions:
- Successive reinforcement contexts only influence choice in concurrent schedules when these contexts are a direct consequence of the subject's own choices.
- This highlights the importance of choice-generated contingencies in shaping complex decision-making.
- Findings contribute to the understanding of reinforcement learning and choice behavior.