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BEHAVIOR INDUCED BY PERIODIC FOOD DELIVERY: THE EFFECTS OF INTERFOOD INTERVAL
Author(s) -
Innis Nancy K.,
SimmelhagGrant Virginia L.,
Staddon J. E. R.
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.1983.39-309
Subject(s) - food delivery , interval (graph theory) , feeding behavior , reinforcement , animal behavior , duration (music) , psychology , audiology , communication , statistics , zoology , mathematics , biology , social psychology , medicine , combinatorics , marketing , business , art , literature
Pigeons were exposed to fixed‐time schedules of food presentation ranging from five to 300 seconds. Although consistent, stereotyped response patterns developed during interfood intervals on all schedules, there were distinct differences in the behavior observed on schedules with short, as opposed to long, intervals. During the shorter intervals, responses were performed quite vigorously, a feeder‐directed terminal response was observed, and most activities were localized near the feeder. On the longer schedules, no feeder‐directed terminal response developed, although the birds were usually near the feeder at the end of intervals. The predominant response involved moving about the chamber, often pacing along one of the walls. Performance during short intervals is accounted for quite well by the antagonistic‐motivational state hypothesis suggested by Staddon (1977); however, performance during longer intervals is not. Behavior during interfood intervals may more accurately be classified as reflecting a single (food) motivational state and described simply in terms of Craig's (1918) appetitive behavior.