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Effects of differential probabilities of reinforcement on human timing
- Source :
- Behavioural processes. 177
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- We investigated how differential payoffs affect the temporal discrimination of humans. In a temporal bisection task, participants learned to make one response after a short sample and another after a long sample. When presented with a range of intermediate samples, the proportion of responses fitted well a Gaussian-like distribution function characterized by a location (bias), a scale (sensitivity) parameter, and two asymptote (discrimination) parameters. In Experiment 1, when one response yielded more reinforcers than the other, parameters were unaltered, but overall responses increased for the response producing higher payoffs. In Experiment 2, we used a video game to track motion during the sample and participants learned to approach the “short” response location at sample onset and remain there before departing to the “long” location on long trials. Departure times were shorter when “long” choices produced higher payoffs than “short” and matched well the shifted psychometric functions. However, on some trials, subjects were biased for short, returning to the short side after having departed towards long. Evidence was found for effects of differential payoffs on response bias, but discrimination and sensitivity did not change consistently. These results favor a behavioral account of timing processes.
- Subjects :
- Bisection
05 social sciences
Sample (statistics)
General Medicine
Response bias
050105 experimental psychology
Discrimination Learning
Behavioral Neuroscience
Statistics
Time Perception
Range (statistics)
Humans
Learning
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Animal Science and Zoology
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
Sensitivity (control systems)
Asymptote
Reinforcement
Video game
Reinforcement, Psychology
Mathematics
Probability
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18728308
- Volume :
- 177
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Behavioural processes
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c8a6b99073e6eb3ecbd3a2a9d60173e0