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Responding of pigeons under variable-interval schedules of signaled-delayed reinforcement: effects of delay-signal duration
Abstract and Figures
Two experiments with pigeons examined the relation of the duration of a signal for delay ("delay signal") to rates of key pecking. The first employed a multiple schedule comprised of two components with equal variable-interval 60-s schedules of 27-s delayed food reinforcement. In one component, a short (0.5-s) delay signal, presented immediately following the key peck that began the delay, was increased in duration across phases; in the second component the delay signal initially was equal to the length of the programmed delay (27 s) and was decreased across phases. Response rates prior to delays were an increasing function of delay-signal duration. As the delay signal was decreased in duration, response rates were generally higher than those obtained under identical delay-signal durations as the signal was increased in duration. In Experiment 2 a single variable-interval 60-s schedule of 27-s delayed reinforcement was used. Delay-signal durations were again increased gradually across phases. As in Experiment 1, response rates increased as the delay-signal duration was increased. Following the phase during which the signal lasted the entire delay, shorter delay-signal-duration conditions were introduced abruptly, rather than gradually as in Experiment 1, to determine whether the gradual shortening of the delay signal accounted for the differences observed in response rates under identical delay-signal conditions in Experiment 1. Response rates obtained during the second exposures to the conditions with shorter signals were higher than those observed under identical conditions as the signal duration was increased, as in Experiment 1. In both experiments, rates and patterns of responding during delays varied greatly across subjects and were not systematically related to delay-signal durations. The effects of the delay signal may be related to the signal's role as a discriminative stimulus for adventitiously reinforced intradelay behavior, or the delay signal may have served as a conditioned reinforcer by virtue of the temporal relation between it and presentation of food.
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... Figure 1-1. Rates of key pecking for one subject under each delay-signal duration for a 27 s delay to reinforcement, as depicted by Schaal and Branch (1990) ......... 24 ...
... Such experiments have frequently been cited as evidence that the signal acquires reinforcing value though being paired with primary reinforcement, subsequently serving as a conditioned reinforcer that maintains responding (e.g., Ferster, 1953;Schaal & Branch, 1988). This interpretation is supported in part by Schaal and Branch (1990) who studied the effects of delay-signal duration on rate of responding. Using a single VI 60 s with reinforcement delayed by 27 s, they examined the effects of gradually increasing the delay-signal durations (See Figure 1- Delay signal duration (seconds) ...
... Figure 1-1. Rates of key pecking for one subject under each delay-signal duration for a 27 s delay to reinforcement, as depicted by Schaal and Branch (1990). ...
p>It has long been known that the impairment to discrimination learning caused by brief delays to reinforcement can be counteracted by the response-contingent presentation of a conditioned reinforcer during the delay interval following a correct response (Spence, 1947). More recently, it has been shown that reinforcement delay can also be overcome using response-marking procedures, in which the same stimulus contingently follows both correct responses and errors (e.g. Lieberman, McIntosh & Thomas, 1979). This thesis examined the effects of response-marking procedures on human learning of conditional discrimination tasks with delayed reinforcement.
Experiments One to Three employed single case experimental designs (alternating treatments) to evaluate the effect of response marking during matching-to-sample tasks with delayed reinforcement, using children with autism as participants. Experiment One showed that for both marking and conditioned reinforcement supported acquisition of conditional discrimination performance over a 5 s delay, although the latter appeared more efficient. Experiment Two, however, showed that – with more effective techniques – both procedures were equally effective, and that both were more effective than a control in which no response-contingent stimuli occurred during the delay. Experiment Three compared the standard marking procedure with a novel marked-before procedure in which all sample stimuli were marked before a matching response was made. Both procedures produced very similar acquisition rates, and both were more effective in establishing conditional discrimination than a delay only control.
Experiments four to Seven employed group comparison designs to compare marking against conditioned reinforcement, delay and immediate reinforcement using adult humans in a laboratory version of the matching-to-sample task. Marking effects were found only in Experiment Seven, when the confounding effects of verbal behaviour were adequately controlled.
Overall, the findings indicated that response-marking procedures may be effective with human participants but that their effects are more reliable in applied settings with children than in laboratory settings with adults.</p
... Another involves using multiple schedules of reinforcement, in which one component is correlated with immediate reinforcement and the other components are correlated with different delay values (Richards, 1973;Ruiz et al., 2007). Other manipulations have assessed the effects of signaled and unsignaled delays across different phases of the experiment (Azzi et al., 1964;Richards, 1981;Schaal & Branch, 1988) or between different components of multiple schedules of reinforcement (Bell, 1999;Podlesnik, Jimenez-Gomez, Ward, & Shahan, 2006;Schaal & Branch, 1990). In one example of the former, Azzi et al. (1964) established lever-pressing in rats using a continuous reinforcement schedule (CRF) where each lever press delivered the programmed reinforcer. ...
... Another procedure that has been used to assess the effects of signaled and unsignaled delay of reinforcement is using multiple schedules of reinforcement. For instance, using a two-component multiple schedule, Schaal and Branch (1990) examined the effects of different signal durations imposed during a 27-s delay. In a similar experiment, Bell (1999) assessed the effects of immediate, unsignaled and signaled delay of reinforcement, using a three-component multiple schedule. ...
... In a similar experiment, Bell (1999) assessed the effects of immediate, unsignaled and signaled delay of reinforcement, using a three-component multiple schedule. In both experiments (Bell, 1999;Schaal & Branch, 1990), higher response rates occurred during the signaled delay than during the unsignaled delay component. Nevertheless, opposite to what has been reported in between-phases procedures (Azzi et al., 1964;Richards, 1981), or even to what Schaal and Branch reported using a multiple schedule, Bell found differences between signaled delayed and immediate reinforcement, observing a higher response rate during the former. ...
Using eight experimentally naive Wistar rats, the effects of immediate, unsignaled and signaled delays of reinforcement on lever-pressing response rates were compared with two different procedures. In the Between-Phases procedure, each experimental condition was presented in three thirty-session consecutive phases; whereas, in the Multiple-Schedule procedure, each experimental condition was correlated with one component of a three-component multiple schedule of reinforcement. Regardless of the procedure used, consistent results were observed, that is, differences in response rates were found when rats were exposed to a delay of reinforcement condition (Signaled or Unsignaled) in contrast to the immediate-reinforcement condition. These results suggest that even when rats are exposed to different condi- tions in the same session, similar results occur to those found when these conditions are arranged between phases. Similarly, they provide some information regarding the usefulness of employing a multiple schedule to assess the effects of different variables (Immediate, Unsignaled, and Signaled food deliveries) in relatively less time than a between-phases procedure.
... Responding, however, decreased as the FT token-exchange schedule became leaner. This result is consistent with other findings indicating that conditioned reinforcers require recurring pairing with the primary (i.e., backup) reinforcer to maintain behavior (Kelleher & Gollub, 1962;Schaal & Branch, 1990). Other research directly manipulating the exchange-production schedule suggests that humans Falligant & Kornman, 2019;Ward-Horner et al., 2017) and nonhumans (Yankelevitz et al., 2008) often select leaner exchange-production schedules if doing so produces accrual of more tokens that corresponds with greater (e.g., higher magnitude, longer duration, or better quality) reinforcement, despite this arrangement resulting in longer delays to reinforcement. ...
The questions posed in this chapter involve the relevance of reinforcement and punishment schedules, the properties of which researchers have analyzed and systematized in laboratories under controlled conditions, and in practical applications. A schedule is a two-term contingency that prescribes the arrangement of reinforcers or punishers in time and in relation to responses (Zeiler, 1984). Schedules are not esoteric constructions artificially created to investigate equally esoteric problems in laboratories. They are both ubiquitous in every environment that living organisms inhabit and fundamental to the understanding of behavior. Schedules also do not require translation into practice in any usual sense of that expression because schedules already were there-schedules maintain or suppress responding even before an applied behavior analyst intervenes. The job of the applied behavior analyst is to identify the likely schedule maintaining the targeted behavior and draw from research on that schedule to modify it to the client's benefit. Because every intervention involves a schedule of reinforcement, punishment, or both, knowledge of these schedules is essential to best practices.
... common and can limit opportunities to access the community (Hill et al., 2014). As such, practitioners have an obligation to develop expertise in the use of reinforcement-based behavioral interventions (Scheuermann, Webber, Boutat, & Goodwin, 2003). ...
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is a commonly used reinforcement-based system for reducing problem behavior. DRO systems are particularly useful in that they are effective for the treatment of maladaptive behavior and can be individualized based on the needs of the learner. One possible way to enhance the effectiveness of DRO systems is the use of signaled delays. In the present study, the effectiveness of signaled and unsignaled DRO systems was compared for the treatment of stereotypical behavior in three adolescents and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results from this study suggested that while the unsignaled DRO condition was effective at reducing stereotypical behavior for one of three participants, the signaled DRO condition was effective for all three participants.
... However, the 'conditioned' reinforcing effects would only last insomuch as the tokens are paired with back-up reinforcers frequently and consistently (Kelleher & Gollub, 1962). This view is consistent with research indicating that increasing delays between conditioned and back-up reinforcers disrupt the reinforcement contingency (Schaal & Branch, 1990). What's more, when multiple tokens are required to exchange for backup reinforcers, Bullock and Hackenberg found the temporal distribution of pigeons' responding to be indicative of a signaling effect. ...
Token economies are commonly used in educational and clinical settings as tools for reinforcing appropriate behavior. However, little applied research has been conducted to investigate the behavioral mechanisms involved. What's more, research with non-human animals suggests that tokens may serve discriminative functions which may actually suppress responding under high schedule requirements. This study explores the relationship between schedules of token production (i.e., dense, lean, and yoked reinforcement) and response patterns in three children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Relative to yoked reinforcement schedules, token production corresponded with higher response rates and shorter pre-ratio pauses (PRPs) under low schedule requirements. Under high schedule requirements, all three participants demonstrated higher response rates and shorter PRPs in the yoked reinforcement condition relative to either token production condition. These findings are consistent with research involving non-human animals suggesting that, under high schedule requirements, tokens may signal lengthy delays to reinforcement and potentially even suppress responding. Thus, we provide preliminary recommendations for using token reinforcement systems most effectively in applied contexts.
Free access through mid January: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1c82q5SouyD8t
This study evaluated the effect of delay and magnitude of reinforcement in Pavlovian contingencies, extending the understanding of the phenomenon of autoshaped impulsivity as described in Alcalá's thesis (2017) and Burgos and García-Leal (2015). The effects of adding a trace interval were analyzed on the maintained responses of impulsive choice, seen as the preference of a small and immediate reinforcer over a larger and delayed one, and the role of the contextual unit, as well as the inhibitory units according to the Diffuse Discrepancy Model. In the Simulation, the model with inhibitory units was used, trained in two signals with different delays and reinforcement magnitudes, and subsequently presented concurrently in choice tasks without reinforcement nor learning, using an ABA within-subject design. In general, the DD model successfully simulated the phenomenon of autoshaped impulsivity, consistent with studies from Alcalá's thesis (2017), Burgos and García-Leal (2015), and Picker and Poling (1982). It also predicted the elimination of this effect (autoshaped impulsivity) after introducing a trace interval. The observed results and their implications are discussed, as well as possible future studies with animals and humans.
Some of the earliest applications outside the laboratory of principles derived from the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB), such as the pioneering work of Keller and Marian Breland, involved animals. This translational tradition continues to the present as EAB‐related behavior principles are applied with increasing frequency to behavior management and training practices with animals in nonlaboratory settings. Such translations, and those populations to which they are applied, benefit from a rigorous experimental analysis of practices that are promulgated in popular outlets. These translations both affirm the generality of those principles and serve as goads for laboratory and field research that can further articulate extant principles, develop new ones, and refine methods of application and assessment. This review considered several areas of basic EAB research and contemporary applied animal behavior (AAB) practices in relation to one another: (1) response establishment and maintenance, (2) response reduction and elimination, (3) chaining and conditioned reinforcement, and (4) discriminative stimulus control. Within each topic, a selection of processes and procedures in both EAB and AAB work were reviewed in relation to one another.
We evaluated a noncontingent reinforcement treatment that included initial brief exposures to signaled alternation of availability and nonavailability of reinforcement, followed by rapid schedule thinning. Results confirmed findings from previous research (typically with differential reinforcement schedules) that establishing stimulus control across multiple treatment components facilitated schedule thinning. We discuss both the clinical utility of this procedure and the utility of stimulus control for making interventions more practical for clinicians.
Este trabajo describe la línea de investigación de Marco Pulido sobre reforzamiento demorado mediante programas definidos temporalmente.
Recent research has indicated high economic and environmental costs of human paper usage. Technologies have been developed to reduce consumers’ paper use behavior, including mechanical dispensers that institute a delay between opportunities to obtain each consecutive unit. However, there is no empirical evidence that these dispensers or delays reduce paper use. In Experiment 1, implementing a delay between paper-unit deliveries using mechanical dispensers in a university café resulted in a significant decrease in units per person, material per person, and cost per person, compared to free-access dispensers. In Experiment 2, a relatively long delay was more effective than a short delay in reducing paper consumption in a laboratory experiment using mechanical dispensers. These results indicate that delays could be used to decrease paper use in many contexts on a larger scale. More research is necessary to determine the underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for the observed reduction and the cost–benefit relationship under different circumstances.
Acquisition and maintenance of autoshaped keypecking by pigeons were studied as a function of the duration of trial and intertrial intervals (ITIs). A total of 200 White Carneaux Ss were used in 2 experiments. In Exp I, trial durations were fixed and intertrial durations were variable. 25 groups of Ss were studied at trial durations ranging from 1 to 64 sec and mean ITI durations ranging from 6 to 768 sec. Values were chosen so as to obtain several groups with the same ratio of ITI to trial duration. Ratios ranged from 2:1 to 96:1. Over most durations studied, constant values of the ratio produced an approximately constant number of trials to acquisition. High ratios resulted in faster acquisition than did low ratios. Following acquisition, response rate varied inversely with absolute trial duration. In Exp II, ITIs as well as trial durations were fixed. ITIs ranged from 48 to 384 sec, and trial durations ranged from 8 to 32 sec. Trials to acquisition again varied inversely with the ratio of ITI to trial duration. In both experiments, this relationship was well approximated by a single power function. Results strain several current accounts of the classical conditioning process. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
Pigeons were exposed to serial, delay, and trace autoshaping procedures. In Experiment I, all conditioned stimuli (CSs) were changes in illumination of the response key. The number of trials to acquisition of the keypeck increased from serial, to 4-sec delay, 8-sec delay, and 8-sec trace procedures, in that order. In Experiment II, which used a longer intertrial interval, trials to criterion increased from 8-sec delay, to 28-sec delay, 8-sec trace, and 28-sec trace procedures, in that order. In Experiment III, two groups received serial procedures in which the first CS was either a tone or a houselight, and the second was a keylight. The tone group acquired the key peck more rapidly than the houselight group. Early in conditioning in these experiments, and when the conditioned stimulus was a change in the keylight, there was a short latency to the onset of pecking and pecking was directed at the CS. After extensive conditioning, or when the CS was relatively diffuse, pecking still occurred, but had a longer latency and was not reliably directed toward the conditioned stimulus.
Presents a review of data and theories on delay of primary reinforcement in discrete trial instrumental learning. The major areas of investigation that are reviewed include delay of negative reinforcement; measurements of delay effects; cue utilization in acquisition and extinction; resistance to extinction as a function of constant delay, partial delay, and patterns of partial delay; contrast; and discrimination learning. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The independent variable of delay of reinforcement is traced from its early empirical history through the systematic treatment provided by Hull and Spence. The empirical findings and theoretical implications of recent experimental studies are noted. The effects of delay of reward and delay of punishment on the learning process are considered, the comparative studies with human Ss are reported, and the relevance of delay of reinforcement to abnormal behavior and personality is summarized. (103 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Studied the role of the relative durations of CS–UCS gap and intertrial interval (ITI) in 2 autotracing experiments. In Exp I, CS–UCS gap duration was held constant at 12 sec, and the ITI was systematically varied between 15 and 240 sec across 5 groups of 6 female White Carneaux pigeons. Conditioned excitation (CS-approach) emerged at ITIs of greater than 60 sec, and conditioned inhibition (CS-withdrawal) emerged at ITIs of less than 60 sec. In Exp II, with 50 Ss, the time between successive UCSs averaged 87 sec, and the duration of the CS–UCS gap varied from 6 to 72 sec. CS-approach was observed only in the 6-sec gap condition, and CS-withdrawal developed with gaps of 24 sec or more. Findings indicate that the relative durations of CS–UCS gap and the ITI are more important than is the absolute degree of CS–UCS contiguity in determining whether and what type of conditioning occurs on trace arrangements. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
EACH OF 144 SS RECEIVED 2 ADAPTATION, 10 ACQUISITION, AND 2 EXTINCTION SESSIONS IN A 3 * 4 FACTORIAL DESIGN WITH FIXED CS DELAY, SIMULTANEOUS OFFSET OF CS AND UCS DELAY, AND FIXED CS TRACE PROCEDURES AS 1 DIMENSION AND INTERSTIMULUS INTERVALS (ISI) OF .25, .5, 1, AND 2 SEC. COMPRISING THE OTHER. ISI FUNCTIONS DIFFERED IN SHAPE AND SLOPE FOR DIFFERENT DELAY AND TRACE PROCEDURES. RATE AND LEVEL OF CONDITIONING WERE INVERSE FUNCTIONS OF ISI, EXCEPT UNDER FIXED CS DELAY. MEDIAN LATENCY DECREASED AS TRAINING PROGRESSED; MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF RESPONSE LATENCY INCREASED WITH ISI. LATENCY DATA APPEARED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH TIME DISCRIMINATION AND STIMULUS TRACE HYPOTHESES OF LEARNING. (15 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
• Acquisition and maintenance of autoshaped keypecking by pigeons were studied as a function of the duration of trial and intertrial intervals (ITIs). A total of 200 White Carneaux Ss were used in 2 experiments. In Exp I, trial durations were fixed and intertrial durations were variable. 25 groups of Ss were studied at trial durations ranging from 1 to 64 sec and mean ITI durations ranging from 6 to 768 sec. Values were chosen so as to obtain several groups with the same ratio of ITI to trial duration. Ratios ranged from 2:1 to 96:1. Over most durations studied, constant values of the ratio produced an approximately constant number of trials to acquisition. High ratios resulted in faster acquisition than did low ratios. Following acquisition, response rate varied inversely with absolute trial duration. In Exp II, ITIs as well as trial durations were fixed. ITIs ranged from 48 to 384 sec, and trial durations ranged from 8 to 32 sec. Trials to acquisition again varied inversely with the ratio of ITI to trial duration. In both experiments, this relationship was well approximated by a single power function. Results strain several current accounts of the classical conditioning process. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
• Acquisition and maintenance of autoshaped keypecking by pigeons were studied as a function of the duration of trial and intertrial intervals (ITIs). A total of 200 White Carneaux Ss were used in 2 experiments. In Exp I, trial durations were fixed and intertrial durations were variable. 25 groups of Ss were studied at trial durations ranging from 1 to 64 sec and mean ITI durations ranging from 6 to 768 sec. Values were chosen so as to obtain several groups with the same ratio of ITI to trial duration. Ratios ranged from 2:1 to 96:1. Over most durations studied, constant values of the ratio produced an approximately constant number of trials to acquisition. High ratios resulted in faster acquisition than did low ratios. Following acquisition, response rate varied inversely with absolute trial duration. In Exp II, ITIs as well as trial durations were fixed. ITIs ranged from 48 to 384 sec, and trial durations ranged from 8 to 32 sec. Trials to acquisition again varied inversely with the ratio of ITI to trial duration. In both experiments, this relationship was well approximated by a single power function. Results strain several current accounts of the classical conditioning process. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
Note is made of the change from Hull's original goal gradient hypothesis to the goal gradient which is shown to be a secondary principle derivable from more basic principles. The main portion of this report is concerned with this new formulation and suggestions for certain modifications of it. The author rejects the interpretation that learning under conditions of delay of primary reward involves a backward action of the goal object on the preceding stimulus-response event. As an alternative to this conception it is suggested that "all such learning occurs as the result of the development of secondary reinforcement, the action of which is conceived to take place immediately upon the occurrence of the response. A prominent aspect of this theory is the concept of
differential secondary reinforcement based either on cues from the external environment or internal cues such as proprioceptive stimulation." 19 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In Exp I, 25 adult female White Carneaux pigeons received delayed reinforcement during one component of a multiple VI 1-min schedule of food reinforcement. One unsignaled and 4 signaled delay schedules were examined, but in all cases a plain white key was associated with the immediate reinforcement schedule, and a black vertical line on a white background was associated with the delayed reinforcement schedule. The incremental generalization gradients that were obtained along the line-orientation dimension suggested that the stimulus associated with each delayed reinforcement schedule was exerting inhibitory control. The unsignaled delay schedule, however, generally maintained lower rates of responding than the signaled delay schedules. In addition, unsignaled delay did not produce behavioral contrast. In Exp II, 5 similar Ss were trained on a multiple schedule containing VI 1-min schedules with signaled and unsignaled reinforcement delay. All Ss responded more slowly during the unsignaled than the signaled delay schedule, and the incremental generalization gradients that were obtained suggest that the stimulus associated with an unsignaled delayed reinforcement schedule was exerting inhibitory control. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)