Parameters of conditioned reinforcement: temporal contingency and percentage of pairings

Abstract

One purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of manipulating the temporal contingency between a neutral stimulus and food reinforcer on the establishment of the neutral stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer. Three Auto Sexer pigeons served as subjects and the first experiment investigated the effects of noncontingent primary reinforcement and the effects of noncontingent pairing of a neutral stimulus and food on the establishment of a conditioned reinforcer. The schedule of reinforcement was: MULT(FR 1[VI 1:S1]) (FI 30":S1)(CONC[VI 1:Free-S2][VI 1 Free-Food])(FI 30":S2). The results of Experiment 1 were a greater response rate in the response contingent-paired extinction component (component-two) than in the response noncontingent-unpaired extinction component (component-four). The results were interpreted to mean that a temporal contingency between a neutral stimulus and a food reinforcer is necessary to establish that stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer. Experiment 2 examined the effects of making primary reinforcement response contingent while concurrently presenting a noncontingent neutral stimulus. It was concluded from the results of Experiment 2 that as demonstrated in Experiment 1, a temporal contingency between the stimulus and food is a necessary condition to establish that stimulus as a conditioned reinforc.er. A second purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of varying the percentage parameter of pairing a neutral stimulus and a food reinforcer on the establishment and maintenance of the stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer. Experiment 3 varied the percentage of the stimulus-food pairing and it was found that as the percentage of pairings decreased from 100% to 10% responding for response contingent conditioned reinforcement increased while responding for a stimulus which was not previously contingently paired with food remained near zero. Experiment 4 repeated Experiment 3 but the test schedules were changed from interval schedules to ratio schedules. Responding for response contingent conditioned reinforcement increased. Experiment 5 demonstrated that the previous established conditioned reinforcer could be used to produce a typical fixed-ratio schedule pattern of responding.