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DURATION DISCRIMINATION: EFFECTS OF PROBABILITY OF STIMULUS PRESENTATION
Author(s) -
Elsmore Timothy F.
Publication year - 1972
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.1972.18-465
Subject(s) - lever , stimulus (psychology) , timeout , reinforcement , audiology , statistics , stimulus control , mathematics , psychology , medicine , social psychology , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , physics , quantum mechanics , nicotine
Monkeys initiated a stimulus by pressing on the center of three levers and the stimulus terminated independently of behavior 60, 80, 90, or 100 sec later. Presses on the right lever were reinforced with food following the three briefer durations, and presses on the left lever, following the 100‐sec duration. Incorrect responses produced a 10‐sec timeout. Probability of presenting the 100‐sec duration was manipulated in the range from 0.25 to 0.75, with the probabilities of the briefer durations remaining equal and summing to one minus the probability of the 100‐sec duration. Percentage of responses on either side lever was functionally related to both the probability of presenting the 100‐sec stimulus and to stimulus duration. An analysis of the data based on the theory of signal detection resulted in operating characteristics that were linear when plotted on normal‐normal coordinates. The percentage of responses on either lever approximated the optimal values for maximizing reinforcement probability in each condition of the experiment.