Rate of response as a visual social stimulus

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Animal Behavior
• Operant Conditioning

Background:

• Discriminative stimuli typically involve external cues.
• The role of an organism's behavior as a stimulus for another is less understood.
• Previous research has focused on non-behavioral stimuli in operant conditioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the response rate of one monkey can serve as a discriminative stimulus for another.
• To explore the principles of discrimination and generalization using behavioral stimuli.
• To understand inter-organism stimulus control in operant behavior.

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1: Established a high response rate (chain pulling) in a stimulus monkey as a positive discriminative stimulus for an observer monkey's bar pressing.
• Experiment 1: Alternated high and zero response rates in the stimulus monkey to test the observer's performance.
• Experiment 2: Manipulated reinforcement schedules to alter the stimulus monkey's response rate, assessing its impact on the observer.

Main Results:

• Observer monkey's performance was similar to conditions with non-behavioral stimuli when the stimulus monkey's response rate varied.
• The stimulus monkey's rate of chain pulling was identified as the effective behavioral stimulus for the observer.
• An intermediate response rate by the stimulus monkey led to generalization in the observer's response rate during extinction.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated that the rate of responding of one organism can function as a discriminative stimulus for another.
• Showed that response rates, like physical stimuli, are subject to discrimination and generalization.
• Highlights the potential of behavioral cues in inter-organism stimulus control and learning.