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ENHANCEMENT OF CONDITIONED REINFORCEMENT BY UNCERTAINTY 1
Author(s) -
Kendall Stephen B.
Publication year - 1975
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.1975.24-311
Subject(s) - reinforcement , pecking order , certainty , key (lock) , psychology , statistics , interval (graph theory) , mathematics , social psychology , computer science , ecology , biology , combinatorics , computer security , geometry
Pigeons were trained in three conditions. In the baseline condition, the birds responded on a fixed‐interval schedule with the response key white. When the interval was completed, the key turned either red or green for a delay interval that was terminated by a grain presentation dependent on no key pecks during the final 2 sec. In the uncertainty condition, no grain was presented at the end of the delay periods when the key was red. In the certainty condition, the white light appeared only on occasions when pecking would turn the key green and produce food. Otherwise, the key was illuminated red throughout the total time period. The highest response rate in white occurred in the uncertainty condition, the next highest in the certainty condition, and the lowest in baseline. The results suggest that uncertainty facilitated responding, although uncertainty is not a necessary condition for conditioned reinforcement.