A Local Model of Concurrent Performance
Document Type
Article
Keywords
concurrent schedules, probability of reinforcement, local models, stay schedules, switch schedules, lever press, rats
Disciplines
Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Concurrent procedures may be conceptualized as consisting of two pairs of schedules with only one pair operating at a time. One schedule of each pair arranges reinforcers for staying in the current alternative, and the other schedule arranges reinforcers for switching to the other alternative. These pairs alternate operation as the animal switches between choices. This analysis of the contingencies suggests that variables operating within an alternative produce behavior that conforms to the generalized matching law. Rats were exposed to one pair of stay and switch schedules in each condition, and the probabilities of reinforcement varied across conditions. Both run length and visit duration were power functions of the ratio of the probabilities of reinforcement for staying and switching. The local model, a model of performance on concurrent procedures, was derived from this power function. Performance on concurrent schedules was synthesized from the performances on the separate pairs. Both the generalized matching law and the local model fitted the synthesized concurrent performances. These results are consistent with the view that the contingencies in the alternative, the probability of stay and switch reinforcement, are responsible for performance consistent with the generalized matching law. These results are compatible with momentary maximizing and molar maximizing accounts of concurrent performance. Models of concurrent performance that posit comparisons among the alternatives are not easily applied to these results.
Article Number
1054
Publication Date
1-1999
Peer Reviewed
1
Recommended Citation
MacDonall, James S., "A Local Model of Concurrent Performance" (1999). Psychology Faculty Publications. 59.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/psych_facultypubs/59
Link to request form
1
Link to request form
Click here to request a copy of this article from the author.
Comments
APA Citation: MacDonall, J.S. (1999). A local model of concurrent performance. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 71(1), 57-74.