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DELAYED REINFORCEMENT IN A MULTIPLE SCHEDULE 1
Author(s) -
Wilkie Donald M.
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.1971.16-233
Subject(s) - reinforcement , schedule , contrast (vision) , component (thermodynamics) , psychology , computer science , artificial intelligence , social psychology , physics , thermodynamics , operating system
Three rats and a pigeon were first trained on a two‐component multiple schedule in which reinforcement in the two components occurred immediately after a response. Later, reinforcement in one component was delayed by a few seconds. During both stages of the experiment, reinforcement was scheduled by equal variable‐ (pigeon) or random‐interval (rats) schedules in the two components. The main effect of the delayed reinforcement was to increase the rate of responding in the unchanged (non‐delay) component. This behavioral contrast effect did not appear in all cases to be dependent upon a reduction in the rate of responding or the frequency of reinforcement in the delay component. This finding suggests that a reduction in response rate and/or reinforcement frequency in one component of a multiple schedule may not be a necessary prerequisite for the occurrence of behavioral contrast. This finding is, however, consistent with an explanation that suggests that behavioral contrast results from the introduction of a less‐preferred condition in one component of a multiple schedule, since it is known that animals “prefer” immediate to delayed reinforcement.