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Related Experiment Videos

Commitment using punishment

L Green1, H Rachlin

  • 1Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary
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Pigeons learned to prefer a smaller reward over a larger delayed reward when the smaller reward was followed by punishment. This preference for commitment increased with delay, demonstrating a complex decision-making process in pigeons.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral psychology
  • Animal cognition
  • Decision-making

Background:

  • Pigeons exhibit preferences for reinforcers based on magnitude and delay.
  • Previous research on commitment involves pre-decisional choices to forgo immediate rewards for larger future ones.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate pigeons' choice behavior in a concurrent-chain procedure involving punishment.
  • To examine the role of delay in commitment to a larger-later reinforcer when a smaller-sooner alternative is punished.

Main Methods:

  • Pigeons were trained on a three-alternative choice task to establish a preference order.
  • A two-link, concurrent-chain choice procedure was implemented with punishment for a smaller-sooner reinforcer in one terminal link.
  • The delay between initial and terminal links was systematically varied.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Pigeons' preference for the terminal link with the punished smaller-sooner alternative increased as the delay between links increased.
  • This indicated a form of "commitment" to the larger-later reinforcer.
  • Despite commitment, pigeons occasionally chose the smaller-sooner option, incurring punishment.

Conclusions:

  • Pigeons demonstrate a capacity for commitment, choosing to forgo immediate, albeit punished, rewards for larger delayed ones.
  • The delay between choice and outcome significantly influences commitment behavior.
  • The study highlights the complexities of self-control and decision-making under conditions of punishment.