Effects of differences in interreinforcer intervals between past and current schedules on fixed-interval responding.
Undergraduates were exposed to a mixed fixed-ratio differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule. Values of the schedule components were adjusted so that interreinforcer intervals in one component were longer than those in another component. Following this, a mixed fixed-interval 5-s fixed-interval 20-s schedule (Experiment 1) or six fixed-interval schedules in which the values ranged from 5 to 40 s (Experiment 2) were in effect. In both experiments, response rates under the fixed-interval schedules were higher when the interreinforcer intervals approximated those produced under the fixed-ratio schedule, whereas the rates were lower when the interreinforcer intervals approximated those produced under the different-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule. The present results demonstrate that the effects of behavioral history were under control of the interreinforcer intervals as discriminative stimuli.
Okouchi
Hiroto
H
Department of Psychology, Osaka Kyoiku University, Kashiwara, Japan. okouchi@cc.osaka-kyoiku.ac.jp
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009042:Motivation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012718:Set, Psychology; D013998:Time Perception