STIMULUS GENERALIZATION AND DELAY OF REINFORCEMENT DURING ONE COMPONENT OF A MULTIPLE SCHEDULE

The key pecking of six pigeons was reinforced according to a variable-interval 1-min schedule during each of two successively presented stimuli. When the key was illuminated by a black line on a white background, reinforcement was delayed for 10 sec. When the key was illuminated by a plain white lig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior 1973-03, Vol.19 (2), p.303-309
Main Author: Richards, Ralph W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The key pecking of six pigeons was reinforced according to a variable-interval 1-min schedule during each of two successively presented stimuli. When the key was illuminated by a black line on a white background, reinforcement was delayed for 10 sec. When the key was illuminated by a plain white light, reinforcement was not delayed. All subjects responded at a lower rate during the presentation of the black line. A subsequent generalization test along the line-orientation dimension produced a U-shaped gradient, with the nadir located at or near the training stimulus, for each subject. These gradients suggested that the lower rate of response during the stimulus associated with delayed reinforcement may have been due to an inhibition of responding.
ISSN:0022-5002
1938-3711
DOI:10.1901/jeab.1973.19-303