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Time Allocation, Sequential, and Kinematic Analyses of Behaviors Controlled by An Aperiodic Reinforcement Schedule

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Abstract

Using automatic recording and observational technique, nine behaviors of food-deprived rats were studied when lever pressing was reinforced with food pellets on a variable-interval schedule. The concurrent behaviors were activity around the lever, activity around the food cup, wheel running, exploration, standing up, face grooming, body grooming, and immobility. Compared with a baseline condition without food pellet delivery, time allocation increased for lever pressing, lever activity, and food-cup activity and decreased for exploration, standing, grooming, and immobility. Time allocation to wheel running increased for rats with a low level of baseline running and decreased for rats with a high baseline level. Time allocation to concurrent behaviors was heterogeneous for different lengths of interresponse times (Irts) in lever pressing. Lever activity dominated short Irts, food-cup activity, exploration, and standing dominated intermediate Irts, and wheel running and grooming dominated long Irts. Overall sequential analysis showed that transition probability to a given behavior depended upon the topography of the immediately prior behavior. More fine-grained kinematic analysis showed that transition probabilities were dependent upon their position within behavior sequences. The experiment illustrates how patterns of operant and concurrent behaviors are ordered at the moment-to-moment level rather than random.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Copenhagen, USA

    Iver H. Iversen

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  1. Iver H. Iversen
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Preparation of the manuscript was supported by a grant from the Danish Research Council of the Humanities and by a research fellowship from the University of Copenhagen.

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Iversen, I.H. Time Allocation, Sequential, and Kinematic Analyses of Behaviors Controlled by An Aperiodic Reinforcement Schedule. Psychol Rec 36, 239–255 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394944

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