Reaction time signatures of discriminative processes: differential effects of stimulus similarity and incentive

In three experiments with pigeons, the similarity of unreinforced test stimuli to a reinforced stimulus and the frequency of reinforcement associated with a stimulus were varied. The stimulus on each trial was a small spot that appeared in different hues or, in Experiment 3, different forms. Differe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Learning & behavior 2004-05, Vol.32 (2), p.157-172
Main Author: Blough, Donald S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal cognition
Animals
Aves
Birds
Choice Behavior
Color Perception
Columbidae
Decision Making
Discrimination Learning
Female
Models, Psychological
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Psychological Theory
Reaction Time
Reinforcement, Psychology
Response time
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Summary:In three experiments with pigeons, the similarity of unreinforced test stimuli to a reinforced stimulus and the frequency of reinforcement associated with a stimulus were varied. The stimulus on each trial was a small spot that appeared in different hues or, in Experiment 3, different forms. Differential response frequency and reaction time (RT) patterns emerged: Changes in similarity affected the percentage of stimuli responded to but left the shape of RT distributions about the same, whereas changes in reinforcement shifted RT distributions but had little effect on the percentage of responses. When the similarity and reinforcement variables were applied to the same stimuli (Experiment 2), their effects were largely independent. A generalization procedure (Experiment 3) replicated the similarity effects of the initial discrimination procedure. The RT distributions were modeled by a diffusion process, and implications for a memory-instance model were suggested.
ISSN:1543-4494
1543-4508
DOI:10.3758/bf03196017