Premium
CHOICE BETWEEN FIXED‐INTERVAL SCHEDULES: GRADED VERSUS STEP‐LIKE CHOICE FUNCTIONS
Author(s) -
Shull Richard L.
Publication year - 1992
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.1992.58-37
Subject(s) - reinforcement , schedule , interval (graph theory) , statistics , computer science , mathematics , psychology , social psychology , combinatorics , operating system
Pigeons chose between two fixed‐interval schedules of food reinforcement. A single peck on one of two lighted keys started the fixed‐interval schedule correlated with that key. The schedule had to be completed before the next choice opportunity. The durations of the fixed intervals were varied over conditions from 15 s to 40 s. To maximize the rate of reinforcement, the pigeons had to choose exclusively the shorter of the two schedules. Nevertheless, choice was not all‐or‐none. Instead, relative choice, and the rates of producing the fixed intervals, varied in a graded fashion with the disparity between the two schedules. Choice ratios under this procedure (single response to choose) were highly sensitive to the ratios of the fixed‐interval schedules.