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Related Experiment Videos

Within-session changes in responding during concurrent schedules with different reinforcers in the components

F K McSweeney1, S Swindell, J N Weatherly

  • 1Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-4820, USA.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|November 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Behavioral studies reveal that response rates and time spent responding change within sessions on concurrent schedules. These within-session changes complicate quantitative theories of reinforcement, suggesting satiation or habituation as explanations.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Operant Conditioning

Background:

  • Concurrent schedules of reinforcement involve choices between simultaneously available schedules.
  • Within-session changes in responding are common but not fully understood.
  • Quantitative theories, like the generalized matching law, aim to predict choice behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate within-session changes in responding under concurrent schedules with different reinforcers.
  • To assess the impact of these changes on the parameters of the generalized matching law.
  • To explore potential explanations for within-session response variations.

Main Methods:

  • Rats and pigeons were exposed to concurrent schedules with distinct reinforcers (food/water or different grains).

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  • Response rates and time spent responding were measured throughout experimental sessions.
  • Data were analyzed using the generalized matching law to determine bias and sensitivity parameters.

    • Main Results:

    • Response rates and time spent responding varied significantly within sessions.
    • These within-session changes often differed between the two schedule components.
    • Generalized matching law parameters (bias, sensitivity) and explained variance generally decreased over sessions.
    • Negative sensitivity was observed in some food-water concurrent schedules.

    Conclusions:

    • Within-session response dynamics challenge the validity of quantitative theories of concurrent-schedule behavior, especially with differing reinforcers.
    • Simple motivational changes like arousal are insufficient to explain these within-session variations.
    • Reinforcer-specific factors such as satiation or sensitization-habituation offer more plausible explanations.