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Oscillations following periodic reinforcement
- Source :
- Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal, Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP), instacron:RCAAP
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Three experiments examined behavior in extinction following periodic reinforcement. During the first phase of Experiment 1, four groups of pigeons were exposed to fixed interval (FI 16s or FI 48s) or variable interval (VI 16 s or VI 48 s) reinforcement schedules. Next, during the second phase, each session started with reinforcement trials and ended with an extinction segment. Experiment 2 was similar except that the extinction segment was considerably longer. Experiment 3 replaced the FI schedules with a peak procedure, with FI trials interspersed with non-food peak interval (PI) trials that were four times longer. One group of pigeons was exposed to A 20 s PI 80 s trials, and another to FI 40 s PI 160 s trials. Results showed that, during the extinction segment, most pigeons trained with FI schedules, but not with VI schedules, displayed pause-peck oscillations with a period close to, but slightly greater than the Fl parameter. These oscillations did not start immediately after the onset of extinction. Comparing the oscillations from Experiments I and 2 suggested that the alternation of reconditioning and re-extinction increases the reliability and earlier onset of the oscillations. In Experiment 3 the pigeons exhibited well-defined pause-peck cycles since the onset of extinction. These cycles had periods close to twice the value of the FI and lasted for long intervals of time. We discuss some hypotheses concerning the processes underlying behavioral oscillations following periodic reinforcement.<br />Part of the work reported here was included in a Masters thesis submitted by the first author to the University of Minho, Portugal. The work was funded by a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology to the second author. The authors thank Maria José Souza for her help collecting and analyzing the data.<br />info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
- Subjects :
- Reinforcement Schedule
Social Sciences
Periodic reinforcement
Pigeon
Behavioral oscillations
Extinction, Psychological
03 medical and health sciences
Behavioral Neuroscience
Discrete fourier transform
0302 clinical medicine
Animal science
Fixed-interval schedule
Fixed interval
Animals
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
Timing
Reinforcement
Columbidae
Mathematics
Science & Technology
Fourier Analysis
Variable interval
Oscillation
Peak procedure
05 social sciences
General Medicine
Extinction (psychology)
Food
Reinforcement schedules
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Conditioning, Operant
Animal Science and Zoology
Reinforcement, Psychology
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Photic Stimulation
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18728308
- Volume :
- 81
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Behavioural processes
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....aea217177844656d713601a4fa024581