The effect of a response requirement on schedule-induced aggression

Abstract

The attack behavior induced in pigeons by a fixed-ratio schedule of food reinforcement was compared with that induced by a variable-time schedule composed of the actual interreinforcement intervals of the preceding fixed-ratio schedule condition. For two of the four pigeons that exhibited schedule-induced aggression against a nearby stuffed pigeon, the response-dependent (fixed-ratio) schedule induced a higher rate of attack than did the response-independent (variable-time) schedule. For the remaining two birds, no measure of induced aggression was consistently related to either schedule condition. These results indicate that a response requirement for reinforcement is not a limiting condition for the induction of attack behavior in pigeons.