Multiple schedules: effects of the distribution of reinforcements between component on the distribution of responses between conponents

Abstract

Two pigeons were trained to peck a key under several multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedules of reinforcement; different numbers of reinforcements were scheduled in two components of equal duration which were correlated with red and green illumination of the response key respectively. The results showed: (1) that the total number of responses in a session was proportional to the one-sixth power of the total number of reinforcements delivered in that session; and (2) that the ratio of responses between the two components was equal to the one-third power of the ratio of reinforcements between them. This latter exponent may be regarded as reflecting the sensitivity of the distribution of responses between the components to the distribution of reinforcements. It was suggested that the effects of a number of complex schedules of reinforcement could be summarized by different values of this exponent.