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Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Starr, BC; Staddon, JE
Published in: Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
March 1982

Pigeons were exposed to multiple schedules in which an irregular repeating sequence of five stimulus components was correlated with the same reinforcement schedule throughout. Stable, idiosyncratic, response-rate differences developed across components. Components were rank-ordered by response rate; an approximately linear relation was found between rank order and the deviation of mean response rate from the overall mean rate. Nonzero slopes of this line were found for multiple fixed-interval and variable-time schedules and for multiple variable-interval schedules both when number of reinforcements was the same in all components and when it varied. The steepest function slopes were found in the variable schedules with relatively long interfood intervals and relatively short component durations. When just one stimulus was correlated with all components of a multiple variable-interval schedule, the slope of the line was close to zero. The results suggest that food-rate differences may be induced initially by different reactions to the stimuli and subsequently maintained by food.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior

DOI

EISSN

1938-3711

ISSN

0022-5002

Publication Date

March 1982

Volume

37

Issue

2

Start / End Page

267 / 280

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Sensation
  • Reinforcement Schedule
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual
  • Conditioning, Operant
  • Columbidae
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
 

Citation

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Starr, B. C., & Staddon, J. E. (1982). Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 37(2), 267–280. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1982.37-267
Starr, B. C., and J. E. Staddon. “Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 37, no. 2 (March 1982): 267–80. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1982.37-267.
Starr BC, Staddon JE. Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior. 1982 Mar;37(2):267–80.
Starr, B. C., and J. E. Staddon. “Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, vol. 37, no. 2, Mar. 1982, pp. 267–80. Epmc, doi:10.1901/jeab.1982.37-267.
Starr BC, Staddon JE. Sensory superstition on multiple interval schedules. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior. 1982 Mar;37(2):267–280.

Published In

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior

DOI

EISSN

1938-3711

ISSN

0022-5002

Publication Date

March 1982

Volume

37

Issue

2

Start / End Page

267 / 280

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Sensation
  • Reinforcement Schedule
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual
  • Conditioning, Operant
  • Columbidae
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology