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MAXIMIZING PRESENT VALUE: A MODEL TO EXPLAIN WHY MODERATE RESPONSE RATES OBTAIN ON VARIABLE‐INTERVAL SCHEDULES
Author(s) -
Silberberg Alan,
WarrenBoulton Frederick R.,
Asano Toshio
Publication year - 1988
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.1988.49-331
Subject(s) - reinforcement , session (web analytics) , statistics , schedule , variable (mathematics) , value (mathematics) , immediacy , operant conditioning , interval (graph theory) , psychology , mathematics , computer science , social psychology , combinatorics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , epistemology , world wide web , operating system
In Phases 1 and 3, two Japanese monkeys responded on a multiple variable‐ratio 80 variable‐interval X schedule, where the value of X was adjusted to ensure equal between‐schedule reinforcement rates. Components strictly alternated following the delivery of a food pellet, and each session ended following 50 components. Phase 2 differed from the others only in that the 50 pellets previously earned during the session were delivered together at session's end. Variable‐ratio response rates did not decrease across phases, but variable‐interval response rates decreased substantially during the Phase 2 procedure. This rate decrease was attributed to the food‐at‐session's‐end manipulation removing the greater immediacy of reinforcement provided by short interresponse times relative to long interresponse times. Without this time preference for short interresponse times, the variable‐interval interresponse‐time reinforcement feedback function largely controlled response emission, dictating a response‐rate reduction. This result was explained in terms of the economic notion of “maximizing present value.”