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FACTORS INFLUENCING RESPONDING UNDER MULTIPLE SCHEDULES OF CONDITIONED AND UNCONDITIONED REINFORCEMENT
Author(s) -
Cohen Steven L.,
Lentz B. E.
Publication year - 1976
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.1976.26-395
Subject(s) - reinforcement , stimulus (psychology) , neutral stimulus , unconditioned stimulus , psychology , food delivery , stimulus control , audiology , classical conditioning , neuroscience , conditioning , cognitive psychology , social psychology , mathematics , statistics , medicine , marketing , business , nicotine
Two experiments examined pigeons' responses under multiple schedules of conditioned and unconditioned reinforcement. In one component, responses produced food according to a fixed‐interval schedule; in a second component, responses produced brief stimuli according to a fixed‐ratio schedule. When brief‐stimulus presentations were paired with food in the first component, rates in the second component were usually higher than 10 responses per minute. When pairing in the first component was eliminated, responding continued to be maintained in the second component. Elimination of food presentation from the first component substantially decreased responding in the second component, even though the brief stimulus had not been paired with food. Experiment II demonstrated that response rate was affected by the duration of both the second component and the brief stimulus. The results suggest that three conditions are important in maintaining responding with brief‐stimulus presentations: (1) pairing the brief stimulus, at least initially, with food, (2) maintaining unconditioned reinforcement in one component, and (3) employing optimal brief‐stimulus and component durations.