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WITHIN‐SESSION RESPONSE RATES WHEN REINFORCEMENT RATE IS CHANGED WITHIN EACH SESSION
Author(s) -
McSweeney Frances K.,
Weatherly Jeffrey N.,
Swindell Samantha
Publication year - 1995
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.1995.64-237
Subject(s) - reinforcement , session (web analytics) , psychology , interval (graph theory) , schedule , audiology , statistics , social psychology , computer science , mathematics , medicine , combinatorics , world wide web , operating system
Three pigeons pecked keys and 5 rats pressed levers for food delivered on variable‐interval schedules. During baseline conditions, subjects responded on a variable‐interval 40‐s schedule throughout the session. During experimental conditions, the programmed rate of reinforcement changed every 10 min in the 50‐min sessions. When rats served as subjects, Herrnstein's (1970) hyperbolic equation provided a good description of the relation between rate of responding during a 10‐min interval and the rate of reinforcement obtained during that interval. Responding, measured over 10‐min blocks, was also approximately equally sensitive to changes in the programmed rate of reinforcement at all times in the session. Herrnstein's equation provided a poorer description of the changes in responding when pigeons served as subjects. Differences in experimental experience or differences in the absolute rates at which subjects responded may have contributed to the differences in results for these different species.