Extended Pausing by Humans on Multiple Fixed-Ratio Schedules With Varied Reinforcer Magnitude and Response Requirements

Abstract

We conducted three experiments to reproduce and extend Perone and Courtney's (1992) study of pausing at the beginning of fixed-ratio schedules. In a multiple schedule with unequal amounts of food across two components, they found that pigeons paused longest in the component associated with the smaller amount of food (the lean component), but only when it was preceded by the rich component. In our studies, adults with mild intellectual disabilities responded on a touch-sensitive computer monitor to produce money. In Experiment 1, the multiple-schedule components differed in both response requirement and reinforcer magnitude (i.e., the rich component required fewer responses and produced more money than the lean component). Effects shown with pigeons were reproduced in all 7 participants. In Experiment 2, we removed the stimuli that signaled the two schedule components, and participants' extended pausing was eliminated. In Experiment 3, to assess sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude versus fixed-ratio size, we presented conditions with equal ratio sizes but disparate magnitudes and conditions with equal magnitudes but disparate ratio sizes. Sensitivity to these manipulations was idiosyncratic. The present experiments obtained schedule control in verbally competent human participants and, despite procedural differences, we reproduced findings with animal participants. We showed that pausing is jointly determined by past conditions of reinforcement and stimuli correlated with upcoming conditions.

Advance Notice for Transition-Related Problem Behavior: Practice Guidelines

“…In the basic laboratory, food-deprived nonhuman animals responding for food (e.g., Perone and Courtney 1992) and people with IDD responding for money (Williams et al 2011) transitioned unpredictably between reinforcement schedules ending in large and small reinforcers (akin to relatively rich and lean tasks). Responding maintained by small reinforcers was disrupted for long periods (pre-ratio pause) when subjects had just completed a rich schedule and were presented with the stimuli associated with the lean task (a rich-to-lean transition).…”

Intersection of Reward and Memory in Monkey Rhinal Cortex

“…For example, the value of winning $100 on a spin of the roulette wheel varies according to whether you won $10 or $1000 on the previous spin. This contextual modulation of predicted value has been shown to affect behavior in humans and several other species (Williams et al, 2011; Lowe et al, 1974; Perone and Courtney, 1992). …”

Effects of negative incentive shifts in food reward on rats' consumption of concurrent ethanol solutions

“…In addition to pigeons (Perone & Courtney, 1992;Retzlaff, Parthum, Pitts, & Hughes, 2017), the effect has been shown in rats working for food (Galuska & Sawyer, 2017;Galuska & Yadon, 2011) and with components varying in force required to execute a lever press (Wade- Galuska, Perone, & Wirth, 2005), domestic hens with reinforcer delay (Harris, Foster, Levine, & Temple, 2012), monkeys responding for self-administered cocaine doses (Galuska, Wade-Galuska, Woods, & Winger, 2007), and humans working for money (Bejarano, Williams, & Perone, 2003;Williams, Saunders, & Perone, 2011) and while transitioning between preferred to less-preferred activities (Jessel, Hanley, & Ghaemmaghani, 2016). In addition to pigeons (Perone & Courtney, 1992;Retzlaff, Parthum, Pitts, & Hughes, 2017), the effect has been shown in rats working for food (Galuska & Sawyer, 2017;Galuska & Yadon, 2011) and with components varying in force required to execute a lever press (Wade- Galuska, Perone, & Wirth, 2005), domestic hens with reinforcer delay (Harris, Foster, Levine, & Temple, 2012), monkeys responding for self-administered cocaine doses (Galuska, Wade-Galuska, Woods, & Winger, 2007), and humans working for money (Bejarano, Williams, & Perone, 2003;Williams, Saunders, & Perone, 2011) and while transitioning between preferred to less-preferred activities (Jessel, Hanley, & Ghaemmaghani, 2016).…”