Hill‐climbing by Pigeons

Abstract

Pigeons were exposed to two types of concurrent operant-reinforcement schedules in order to determine what choice rules determine behavior on these schedules. In the first set of experiments, concurrent variable-interval, variable-interval schedules, key-peck responses to either of two alternative schedules produced food reinforcement after a random time interval. The frequency of food-reinforcement availability for the two schedules was varied over different ranges for different birds. In the second series of experiments, concurrent variable-ratio, variable-interval schedules, key-peck responses to one schedule produced food reinforcement after a random time interval, whereas food reinforcement occurred for an alternative schedule only after a random number of responses. Results from both experiments showed that pigeons consistently follow a behavioral strategy in which the alternative schedule chosen at any time is the one which offers the highest momentary reinforcement probability (momentary maximizing). The quality of momentary maximizing was somewhat higher and more consistent when both alternative reinforcement schedules were time-based than when one schedule was time-based and the alternative response-count based. Previous attempts to provide evidence for the existence of momentary maximizing were shown to be based upon faulty assumptions about the behavior implied by momentary maximizing and resultant inappropriate measures of behavior.

Testing models of non-kin cooperation: mutualism and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

“…Our results agree with a large body of literature, such as Vaughn & Herrnstein's (1984) idea of melioration, suggesting that animals will categorize wins and losses in terms of immediate or 'momentary' rates of reward (see also Hinson & Staddon 1983;Staddon 1983). For example, when a jay in an Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma increases its payoff from S to P by defecting, it is likely to perceive the payoff as a win rather than a loss.…”

Theory and behavior analysis

“…The GA model convincingly demonstrates that molar measures of responding can arise as the cumulative effect of momentto-moment contiguities between simulated responses and reinforcers. This finding is consistent with considerable experimental work (e.g., Hinson & Staddon, 1983;Silberberg, Hamilton, Ziriax, & Casey, 1978;cf. Donahoe, 2012).…”

Adaptive Behavior and Learning

“…Subsequently, interest in this view revived. The simpler theoretical analysis described in the text has appeared and new experiments supporting momentary maximizing as a substantial component, at least, of operant choice have been published (Silberberg, Hamilton, Ziriax, & Casey 1978;Staddon l980b;Staddon, Hinson, & Kram, 1981;Hinson & Staddon, 1983) -although dissenting views are not lacking (e.g., Nevin, 1979a;de Villiers, 1977).…”