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Timing the second response in two-response avoidance.

S Fairhurst, J Gibbon

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|March 1, 1983

Summary

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Rats learned to time their lever presses in a two-response avoidance task. Response times were proportional to the available time, supporting a scalar expectancy model of timing behavior.

Area of Science:

Behavioral neuroscience
Cognitive psychology
Animal behavior

Background:

Operant conditioning is a fundamental learning process.
Timing behavior is crucial for many learned responses.
Understanding timing mechanisms aids in modeling cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate timing mechanisms in a free-operant avoidance task.
To determine if response latencies are influenced by available time intervals.
To test the applicability of the scalar expectancy model to this task.

Main Methods:

Rats were trained on a two-lever avoidance task.
Different stimuli signaled response opportunities.
Response latencies were measured across various response-shock intervals.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

Response latencies were found to be proportional to the time available for each response.
This proportionality held across different stimulus conditions.
The observed timing pattern aligned with theoretical predictions.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates rats' ability to accurately time responses in a complex avoidance task.
Findings support the scalar expectancy model as a viable explanation for timing behavior.
This research contributes to understanding the neural and cognitive underpinnings of temporal control.