Auto-shaping in bobwhite quail.
Bobwhite quail were given extended auto-shaping, a procedure in which response-key illumination or color change is paired with response-independent food presentations. Continuation of the auto-shaping procedure yielded increased responding across sessions, although responses were never instrumental in producing food. The quail were shifted directly from the auto-shaping procedure to a variable-interval 60-sec schedule of reinforcement. All three birds were approaching stable response rates by the fifth session on the variable-interval schedule.
Gardner
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