Abstract

Pigeons were trained with a successive discrimination procedure in which responding during the negative stimulus was never reinforced and responding during the positive stimulus was reinforced according to one of four probability values. This discrimination training followed extensive training with a single, neutral stimulus and the same temporal distribution of reinforcements. The development of stimulus control was studied by tracing the difference in rate of responding between the positive and negative stimuli over the course of discrimination training. Response rate during the positive stimulus remained constant, while that during the negative stimulus decreased to zero. The probability of reinforcement associated with the positive stimulus affected both the total number of responses emitted during the negative stimulus and the number of negative stimulus presentations during which responding occurred. However, the number of reinforcements during the positive stimulus preceding the attainment of various degrees of stimulus control was similar for all probability values.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.