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MATCHING WITH A KEY PECK RESPONSE IN CONCURRENT NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES 1
Author(s) -
Hutton Larrie,
Gardner Edward T.,
Lewis Paul
Publication year - 1978
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.1978.30-225
Subject(s) - reinforcement , matching law , frequency , statistics , peck (imperial) , shock (circulatory) , schedule , psychology , matching (statistics) , social psychology , mathematics , computer science , medicine , geometry , operating system
In the absence of responding, pigeons were shocked under a variable‐time schedule. Responses on either of two keys occasionally produced one minute of shock‐free time. That is, pigeons' key pecks were reinforced with shock‐free time under concurrent variable‐interval schedules. The relative frequency of access to the one‐minute shock‐free periods was systematically manipulated. Pigeons tended to match both relative response rate and proportion of time spent on each key to the relative frequency of the shock‐free periods. A best‐fit linear regression equation accounted for over 95% of the variance in both relative response rate and time allocation. The data paralleled closely the results of concurrent schedules of positive reinforcement. These findings are consistent with a description of reinforcement as a transition to a higher‐valued situation and suggest that common laws govern choice for both positive and negative reinforcement.