OBSERVING RESPONSES IN PIGEONS: EFFECTS OF SCHEDULE COMPONENT DURATION AND SCHEDULE VALUE 1

Pigeons were exposed to a procedure under which five pecks on one response key (the observing key) changed the schedule on a second key (the food key) from a mixed schedule to a multiple schedule for 25 sec. In Experiment I, a random‐ratio 50 schedule alternated with extinction. The duration of the random‐ratio 50 schedule component was varied between 1.25 and 320 sec, and extinction was scheduled for a varying time, ranging from the duration of the random‐ratio 50 to four times that value. Each set of values was scheduled for a block of sessions. Before observing‐key pecks were allowed at each set of parameter values, the pigeons were exposed to a condition where the mixed and multiple schedule alternated every 10 min, and observing‐key pecks were not permitted. Rates of pecking on the observing key were high for all values of random‐ratio component durations except 1.25 sec. Experiment II was conducted with the random‐ratio component duration equal to 40 sec, and the random‐ratio schedule was varied from random‐ratio 50 to 100, 200, and 400. Observing‐key pecking rates were high for all values of the random‐ratio schedule except random‐ratio 400. In both experiments, observing response rates were relatively little affected, suggesting that neither schedule component duration nor schedule value is a strong determinant of observing responses.