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THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN THE EMISSION OF OBSERVING RESPONSES: A TEST OF TWO HYPOTHESES 1
Author(s) -
Wilson R. N.,
Clements R. O.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1971.16-161
Subject(s) - reinforcement , stimulus (psychology) , psychology , audiology , stimulus control , signalling , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , social psychology , medicine , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , nicotine
Pigeons were trained on a trial procedure in a Skinner box. Each trial began with a fixed‐interval schedule. Responding on this schedule produced a stimulus and a delayed trial outcome. The stimulus signalled whether the forthcoming outcome was reinforcement or nonreinforcement. Thus, the response was an observing response. When reinforcement was the outcome on 20% of the trials, response rates in the fixed interval were higher than when reinforcement was the outcome on 80% of the trials. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that observing responses are reinforced by the information associated with the stimulus signalling reinforcement. The result seems inconsistent with the hypothesis that observing responses are also reinforced by the information associated with the stimulus signalling nonreinforcement.