Abstract
In one experiment, the rate and pattern of responding (head entry into the food cup) under different distributions of intervals between food deliveries were examined. Separate groups of rats received fixed-time (45, 90, 180, or 360 sec), random-time (45, 90, 180, or 360 sec), or tandem fixed-time (45 or 90 sec) random-time (45 or 90 sec) schedules of reinforcement. Schedule type affected the pattern of responding as a function of time, whereas mean interval duration affected the mean rate of responding. Responses occurred in bouts with characteristics that were invariant across conditions. Packet theory, which assumes that the momentary probability of bout occurrence is negatively related to the conditional expected time remaining until the next reinforcer, accurately predicted global and local measures of responding. The success of the model advances the prediction of multiple measures of responding across different types of time-based schedules.
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National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH44234 to Brown University supported this research. National Research Service Award MH11691 from the National Institute of Mental Health supported K. K. Special thanks are extended to An Le for his assistance in formulating the explicit solution of the conditional expected time function. The raw data (time of occurrence of each response and reinforcer on each session for each rat) are available at http://www.Brown.edu/Research/Timelab.
—Accepted by previous editorial team of Ralph R. Miller.
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Kirkpatrick, K., Church, R.M. Tracking of the expected time to reinforcement in temporal conditioning procedures. Learning & Behavior 31, 3–21 (2003). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195967
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03195967