Tests of Behavior Momentum in Simple and Multiple Schedules With Rats and Pigeons

Cohen, Steven L.; Riley, Deborah S.; Weigle, Pat A.

doi:10.1901/jeab.1993.60-255

Cited by 77 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…When VI schedules with different reinforcement rates are arranged in multiple schedules, the typical result is that the component with the richer reinforcement rate is more resistant to change (Nevin et aI., 1983). Analogous results were obtained with FI schedules by Cohen et al (1993). Thus, we expected that responding during peak trials for the FI 10-sec schedule would change less, relative to baseline, than peak-trial responding for the FI 30-sec schedule.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 55%

Response strength and temporal control in fixed-interval schedules

Grace

Nevin

2000

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Pigeons responded in a two-component peak procedure in which the components differed in terms of reinforcement magnitude (Experiment 1), immediacy (Experiment 2), or probability (Experiment 3). The prediction of behavioral momentum theory that responding in the relatively richer component should be more resistant to change was tested by (1) presenting response-independent food in the intervals between components according to a variable-time (VT) schedule, (2) prefeeding, and (3) extinction. In all the experiments, peak location in baseline occurred earlier, relative to the schedule value in the richer component. Peak response rate was more resistant to change in the richer component during the VT and prefeeding tests, and change in peak rate was more sensitive to differential reinforcement than change in overall response rate. Changes in measures of performance on peak trials during the disruptor tests were partially consistent with predictions of the behavioral theory of timing. The results suggest that peak response rate provides a more sensitive index of resistance to change for fixedinterval schedules than does overall response rate and that reinforcement strengthens both peak responding and temporal control.Nevin and colleagues proposed that response strength can be measured as the resistance to change of behavior when a disruptor, such as prefeeding, response-independent food, or extinction, is applied. In a typical experiment, Nevin (1974) arranged two variable-interval (VI) schedules for pigeons in an operant chamber. The schedules differed in terms of their reinforcement rate (rich or lean) and were signaled by distinctive stimuli (i.e., a two-component multiple schedule). After baseline training, free food was presented independent of responding between the components. Nevin (1974) found that response rate during the rich schedule decreased less, relative to baseline, than did response rate during the lean schedule. These results and others have led to the development of behavioral momentum theory, which assumes that resistance to change and response rate are analogous to the mass and velocity of a moving object in Newtonian mechanics. According to this theory, resistance to change is a measure of response strength, or behavioral mass, which is positively related to the rate, im-

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 55%

Response strength and temporal control in fixed-interval schedules

Grace

Nevin

2000

Animal Learning & Behavior

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“…For example, Cohen (1986) demonstrated that drugs such as damphetamine sulfate, haloperidol, sodium pentobarbital, and CCK8 do not operate as other response disrupters (e.g., extinction and food satiation) in showing differences in resistance to change across situations correlated with different rates of reinforcement. In addition, Cohen et al (1993) did not find a relationship between resistance to change and reinforcement density when the reinforcement rates were varied between blocks of training sessions, but they did find a relationship when different rates of reinforcement were correlated with different discriminative stimuli and alternated within sessions (a multiple schedule).…”

mentioning

confidence: 79%

“…They found that if a force (e.g., extinction or satiation) is applied across situations involving high versus low reinforcement rate, resistance to change (behavioral mass) is greater in the situation correlated with the higher rate of reinforcement. Cohen (1986) and Cohen, Riley, and Weigle (1993) used rats as subjects in their momentum studies and also observed that resistance to change was greater in the situation associated with the higher density of reinforcement. These authors also defined particular boundaries to the behavioral momentum effect.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in the Effect of Pavlovian Contingencies Upon Behavioral Momentum Using Auditory Versus Visual Stimuli

Mauro

Mace

1996

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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We examined the role of Pavlovian and operant relations in behavioral momentum by arranging response-contingent alternative reinforcement in one component of a three-component multiple concurrent schedule with rats. This permitted the simultaneous arranging of different responsereinforcer (operant) and stimulus-reinforcer (Pavlovian) contingencies during three baseline conditions. Auditory or visual stimuli were used as discriminative stimuli within the multiple concurrent schedules. Resistance to change of a target response was assessed during a single session of extinction following each baseline condition. The rate of the target response during baseline varied inversely with the rate of response-contingent reinforcement derived from a concurrent source, regardless of whether the discriminative stimuli were auditory or visual. Resistance to change of the target response, however, did depend on the discriminative-stimulus modality. Resistance to change in the presence of visual stimuli was a positive function of the Pavlovian contingencies, whereas resistance to change was unrelated to either the operant or Pavlovian contingencies when the discriminative stimuli were auditory. Stimulus salience may be a factor in determining the differences in resistance to change across sensory modalities.

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“…The experimental procedures employed with rats in Experiment 3 closely approximate those of Nevin et al (1983) with pigeons and are similar to those used with rats by Cohen, Riley, and Weigle (1993), with the exception that the latter study involved fixed-interval (FI) and intermittent FR schedules. We held rate of reinforcement constant in both components of the multiple schedule (i.e., VI 60 s VI 60 s) and varied only the type of liquid reinforcer in each component (i.e., sucrose or citric acid solution).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Reinforcer Quality on Behavioral Momentum: Coordinated Applied and Basic Research

Mace¹,

Mauro²,

Boyajian³

et al. 1997

J of App Behav Analysis

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The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence has been an effective treatment for noncompliance. However, treatment failures have also been reported. We hypothesized that the efficacy of the high-p treatment may be improved by using higher quality reinforcers for compliance to high-p instructions. The resistance of compliance to change was tested by varying reinforcer quality in two applied studies and a basic laboratory experiment. Experiment 1 tested the hypothesis that an increase in reinforcer quality for highp compliance will increase the effectiveness of the high-p treatment when it fails to increase compliance. Experiment 2 assessed the effects of reinforcer quality on resistance of compliance to change by presenting successive low-p requests following the high-p treatment. A basic laboratory study (Experiment 3) was conducted to further isolate the relation between reinforcer quality and behavioral momentum. Two different liquid reinforcers (sucrose and citric acid solutions) were presented in a two-component multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedule followed by a single extinction test session. Results of all three experiments showed a generally consistent relationship between reinforcer quality and behavioral momentum.

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Tests of Behavior Momentum in Simple and Multiple Schedules With Rats and Pigeons

Cited by 77 publications

References 33 publications

Response strength and temporal control in fixed-interval schedules

Response strength and temporal control in fixed-interval schedules

Differences in the Effect of Pavlovian Contingencies Upon Behavioral Momentum Using Auditory Versus Visual Stimuli

Effects of Reinforcer Quality on Behavioral Momentum: Coordinated Applied and Basic Research

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