CONCURRENT CHOICE: EFFECTS OF OVERALL REINFORCER RATE AND THE TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF REINFORCERS

Abstract

Six pigeons responded on a series of concurrent exponential variable‐interval schedules, offering a within‐subject comparison with previously published data from concurrent arithmetic variable‐interval schedules. Both relative and overall reinforcer rates were varied between conditions. The generalized matching law described the data well, with undermatching much more frequent than strict matching. Time‐allocation sensitivity consistently exceeded response‐allocation sensitivity for both schedule types, and exponential‐schedule sensitivity exceeded arithmetic‐schedule sensitivity for both measures of choice. A further set of conditions using variable‐interval schedules whose shortest interval was correlated with the mean interval, like arithmetic schedules, but that provided a constant conditional probability of reinforcement, like exponential schedules, produced sensitivities between those produced by conventional arithmetic and exponential schedules. Unlike previous arithmetic‐schedule results, exponential sensitivity changed nonmonotonically with changes in overall reinforcer rate. The results clarify our knowledge of the effects of arithmetic and exponential schedules but confuse our understanding of the effects of overall reinforcer rate on concurrent choice.