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RESPONSE‐REINFORCER INDEPENDENCE AND THE ECONOMIC CONTINUUM: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
Author(s) -
Imam Abdulrazaq A.
Publication year - 1993
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.1993.59-231
Subject(s) - reinforcement , independence (probability theory) , psychology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , computer science , statistics , mathematics
Three pigeons were exposed to 1‐hr and 4‐hr sessions during which they earned food under a fixed‐ratio 50 schedule of reinforcement while obtaining additional food according to either a variable‐interval or a variable‐time schedule. Postsession food was provided after the 1‐hr sessions. The frequency of the variable‐interval and variable‐time food presentations was varied under the two session durations. The various combinations of within‐session earned and unearned food, as well as the postsession food, defined conditions on the open‐to‐closed economy continuum. Key pecks tended to increase as the frequency of either variable‐interval or variable‐time food decreased. An economic‐continuum analysis based on an independence quotient as a measure of response‐reinforcer independence is presented to account for the effects.