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POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CONTRAST AS A FUNCTION OF COMPONENT DURATION FOR KEY PECKING AND TREADLE PRESSING
Author(s) -
McSweeney Frances K.
Publication year - 1982
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.1982.37-281
Subject(s) - pecking order , contrast (vision) , peck (imperial) , psychology , duration (music) , reinforcement , contrast effect , component (thermodynamics) , developmental psychology , social psychology , statistics , cognitive psychology , audiology , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , medicine , biology , ecology , art , geometry , literature , physics , thermodynamics
Pigeons responded on several multiple schedules for food reinforcers. The duration of the components varied from four seconds to 16 minutes. The absolute size of positive (Experiment 1) and negative (Experiment 2) behavioral contrast varied inversely with component duration when key pecks produced the reinforcers. The absolute size of negative contrast varied directly with component duration, when treadle presses produced the reinforcers (Experiment 3). These results conform to theories that suggest that positive and negative contrast are symmetrical when pigeons peck keys. They also conform to theories that suggest that the same principles do not govern contrast when pigeons peck keys as when they press treadles. Finally, the results support the measurement of behavioral contrast by the differences between baseline rates of responding and the rates emitted when contrast is present.