CHOICE IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT: EFFECTS OF BLACKOUT DURATION AND EXTINCTION BETWEEN COMPONENTS

Michael Davison · William M. Baum

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Behavioral and Psychological Studies Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Abstract

Pigeons were trained in a procedure in which sessions included seven four- or 10-reinforcer components, each providing a different reinforcer ratio that ranged from 27:1 to 1:27. The components were arranged in random order, and no signals differentiated the component reinforcer ratios. Each condition lasted 50 sessions, and the data from the last 35 sessions were analyzed. Previous results using 10-s blackouts between components showed some carryover of preference from one component to the next, and this effect was investigated in Experiment 1 by varying blackout duration from 1 s to 120 s. The amount of carryover decreased monotonically as the blackout duration was lengthened. Preference also decreased between reinforcers within components, suggesting that preference change during blackout might follow the same function as preference change between reinforcers. Experiment 2 was designed to measure preference change between components more directly and to relate this to preference change during blackout. In two conditions a 60-s blackout occurred between components, and in two other conditions a 60-s period of unsignaled extinction occurred between components. Preference during the extinction period progressively fell toward indifference, and the level of preference following extinction was much the same as that following blackout. Although these results are consistent with Davison and Baum's (2000) theory of the effects of reinforcers on local preference, other findings suggest that theory is incomplete: After a sequence of reinforcers from one alternative, some residual preference remained after 60 s of extinction or blackout, indicating the possibility of an additional longer term accumulation of reinforcer effects than originally suggested.

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References

1961RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE STRENGTH OF RESPONSE AS A FUNCTION OF FREQUENCY OF REINFORCEMENT 1, 2 1950Are theories of learning necessary?1974ON TWO TYPES OF DEVIATION FROM THE MATCHING LAW: BIAS AND UNDERMATCHING 1 2016The Matching Law: A Research Review 1980Melioration and Behavioral Allocation 1969Optimal behavior in free-operant experiments.2000CHOICE IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT: EVERY REINFORCER COUNTS 1983MATCHING, MAXIMIZING, AND HILL‐CLIMBING

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2004CHOICE IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT: VISIT PATTERNS IN THE DYNAMICS OF CHOICE 2016Control by reinforcers across time and space: A review of recent choice research 2005LOCAL PREFERENCE IN CONCURRENT SCHEDULES: THE EFFECTS OF REINFORCER SEQUENCES 2006FIX AND SAMPLE WITH RATS IN THE DYNAMICS OF CHOICE 2011REINFORCEMENT: FOOD SIGNALS THE TIME AND LOCATION OF FUTURE FOOD 2003CONCURRENT SCHEDULES: REINFORCER MAGNITUDE EFFECTS

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