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CONTINUOUS, FIXED‐RATIO, AND FIXED‐INTERVAL REINFORCEMENT IN HONEY BEES
Author(s) -
Grossmann Klaus E.
Publication year - 1973
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.1973.20-105
Subject(s) - reinforcement , honey bees , interval (graph theory) , computer science , mathematics , psychology , biology , ecology , social psychology , combinatorics
Bees learned to enter a Plexiglas tube and to suck small portions of sugar solution; every entry or every fifth entry was reinforced. During an extinction phase, the bees on the fixed‐ratio schedule emitted twice as many responses as did those given continuous reinforcement. Bees on a fixed‐interval schedule of reinforcement emitted lower response rates than did those given fixed‐ratio reinforcement. By extending the conditioning procedure for several days, it was possible to maintain responding with fixed‐ratio schedules requiring 30 responses per reinforcement and with fixed‐interval values up to 90 sec. Under fixed‐interval schedules, response rates did not increase toward the end of the reinforcement intervals.