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TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETING FIXED RATIOS. IV. COMPONENTS OF THE RATIO 1
Author(s) -
DeCasper Anthony J.,
Zeiler Michael D.
Publication year - 1977
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.1977.27-235
Subject(s) - duration (music) , intermittency , reinforcement , set (abstract data type) , mathematics , statistics , function (biology) , power function , computer science , psychology , physics , biology , social psychology , mathematical analysis , thermodynamics , evolutionary biology , acoustics , turbulence , programming language
Pigeons received food after completing a fixed ratio if the temporal properties of responding exceeded minimum duration requirements. In one set of conditions, a minimum time had to elapse before the first response of the ratio (the initial pause). In another set, the minimum duration was the time between the first and last response of the ratio. Obtained times increased as a power function of required times in both conditions. The power function resembled that occurring in experiments involving temporal differentiation of individual responses, interresponse times, latencies, and entire fixed‐ratio sequences. Moreover, in all of these experiments individual performances could be described as a function of the base duration (the duration occurring in the absence of temporal requirements) and the specific time requirement. Control conditions indicated that the effects resulted from temporal requirements and not from reinforcer intermittency.