Choice in a Variable Environment: Every Reinforcer Counts

Davison, Michael; Baum, William M.

doi:10.1901/jeab.2000.74-1

Cited by 176 publications

(453 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Matching is also highly overdetermined, in the sense that almost any learning rule consistent with the law of effect-an increase in reinforcement probability causes an increase in response probability-will yield either simple matching (Equation 5) or its power-law generalization (Baum 1974, Hinson & Staddon 1983, Lander & Irwin 1968, Staddon 1968. Matching by itself therefore reveals relatively little about the dynamic processes operating in the responding subject (but see Davison & Baum 2000). Despite this limitation, the strikingly regular functional relations characteristic of free-operant choice studies have attracted a great deal of experimental and theoretical attention.…”

Section: Concurrent Schedulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operant Conditioning

Staddon

Cerutti

2003

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

342

213

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Operant behavior is behavior "controlled" by its consequences. In practice, operant conditioning is the study of reversible behavior maintained by reinforcement schedules. We review empirical studies and theoretical approaches to two large classes of operant behavior: interval timing and choice. We discuss cognitive versus behavioral approaches to timing, the "gap" experiment and its implications, proportional timing and Weber's law, temporal dynamics and linear waiting, and the problem of simple chain-interval schedules. We review the long history of research on operant choice: the matching law, its extensions and problems, concurrent chain schedules, and self-control. We point out how linear waiting may be involved in timing, choice, and reinforcement schedules generally. There are prospects for a unified approach to all these areas.

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Section: Concurrent Schedulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operant Conditioning

Staddon

Cerutti

2003

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

342

213

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“…For example, Davison and Baum [20,21] presented pigeons with concurrent reinforcement schedules differing in magnitude, and then switched the magnitudes for each alternative after 10 reinforcers, 7 times per session. Pigeons' ratio of responding between the two alternatives reflected the current ratio of reinforcer magnitudes, and to a lesser extent, past reinforcer ratios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basolateral amygdala lesions and sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude in concurrent chains schedules

Helms

Mitchell

2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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Previous studies show that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is required for behavior to adjust when the value of a reinforcer decreases after satiation or pairing with gastric distress. This study evaluated the effect of pre-or post-training excitotoxic lesions of the BLA on changes in preference with another type of contingency change, reinforcer magnitude reversal. Rats were trained to press left and right levers during a variable-interval choice phase for 50 µl or 150 µl sucrose delivered to consistent locations after a 16-s delay. Tones were presented during the first and last 2 s of the delay to reinforcement. The tone frequency predicted the magnitude of sucrose reinforcement in baseline conditions. All groups acquired stable preference for the lever on the large (150-µl) reinforcer side. However, nose poking during the delay to large reinforcement was highly accurate (i.e., to the reinforced side) for all groups except the rats with BLA lesions induced before training, suggesting impaired control of behavior by the tone. After the acquisition of stable preference, the locations of the reinforcer magnitudes were unpredictably reversed for a single session. Pre-training lesions blunted changes in preference when the reinforcer magnitudes were reversed. Lesions induced after stable preference was acquired, but prior to reversal, did not disrupt changes in preference. The data suggest that the BLA contributes to the adaptation of choice behavior following changes in reinforcer magnitude. Impaired learning about the tone-reinforcer magnitude relationships may have disrupted discrimination of the reinforcer magnitude reversal.

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“…So, in an experimental setting, if 75% of the reinforcers derive from one response alternative, then approximately 65% to 75% of the available time will be spent on that alternative. This process arises and changes with remarkable speed as reinforcement contingencies change (Davison & Baum, 2000;Mazur, 1992). Because, in a sense, only one thing can be done at a time, this ability to strike the right balance among different possibilities is an important component of adaptive behavior.…”

Section: Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental health and behavior analysis: Contributions and interactions.

Newland¹

2013

APA Handbook of Behavior Analysis, Vol. 2: Translating Principles Into Practice.

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The heightened public awareness that environmental contaminants can act on the nervous system and have effects that appear in behavior presents a major challenge to behavioral scientists in all areas. They are being asked to conduct both hazard assessment (are there neurobehavioral effects of some chemical at any dose?) and risk assessment (what is the risk to a population at a specific level of exposure?) for behavioral effects that are not always well understood. The heavy metal lead provides an excellent example. Concern over lead poisoning lies in claims that it lowers scores on IQ tests, retards academic performance, and results in disruptive and even criminal behavior. The problems posed are daunting: How easy is it to detect a 5-point drop in scores on IQ tests? Can scientists predict these effects from experimental models using laboratory animals? Can they identify behavioral and neural mechanisms that account for these effects? What economic costs are incurred if the average IQ drops a few points, and how does this cost compare with that of reducing lead in the environment?These concerns are reflected in policymaking. Federal legislation and regulation of toxic substances specifically include behavior, including schedule-controlled operant behavior, as a regulatory endpoint (Tilson, 1990). The inclusion of nervous system damage in general, and its behavioral manifestations in particular, represents a sea change in public concern over unintended exposure to chemicals. Where cancer has been (and still is) a significant concern, the recognition that adverse behavioral effects follow certain types of chemical exposure is increasing. These effects carry over into a large number of domains. Environmental contaminants, even at very low exposure levels, contribute to disorders across the life span, including developmental disabilities and the hastening of age-related impairments. Behavioral scientists' understanding of how this happens not only has public policy implications but can also inform them about the behavior and neurobiology surrounding these disorders.

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Choice in a Variable Environment: Every Reinforcer Counts

Cited by 176 publications

References 30 publications

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Basolateral amygdala lesions and sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude in concurrent chains schedules

Environmental health and behavior analysis: Contributions and interactions.

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