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SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RELATIONS IN CONDITIONED REINFORCEMENT AND OBSERVING BEHAVIOR
Author(s) -
Bowe Craig A.,
Dinsmoor James A.
Publication year - 1983
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.1983.39-227
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , animal behavior , cognitive psychology , computer science , cognitive science , social psychology , biology , zoology
In Experiment 1, depressing one perch produced stimuli indicating which of two keys, if pecked, could produce food (spatial information) and depressing the other perch produced stimuli indicating whether a variable‐interval or an extinction schedule was operating (temporal information). The pigeons increased the time they spent depressing the perch that produced the temporal information but did not increase the time they spent depressing the perch that produced the spatial information. In Experiment 2, pigeons that were allowed to produce combined spatial and temporal information did not acquire the perch pressing any faster or maintain it at a higher level than pigeons allowed to produce only temporal information. Later, when perching produced only spatial information, the time spent depressing the perch eventually declined. The results are not those implied by the statement that information concerning biologically important events is reinforcing but are consistent with an interpretation in terms of the acquisition of reinforcing properties by a stimulus associated with a higher density of primary reinforcement.