Effects of Signaled Versus Unsignaled Delay of Reinforcement on Choice

Abstract

Pigeons chose between 5-s and 15-s delay-of-reinforcement alternatives. The first key peck to satisfy the choice schedule began a delay timer, and food was delivered at the end of the interval. Key pecks during the delay interval were measured, but had no scheduled effect. In Experiment 1, signal conditions and choice schedules were varied across conditions. During unsignaled conditions, no stimulus change signaled the beginning of a delay interval. During differential and nondifferential signal conditions, offset of the choice stimuli and onset of a delay stimulus signaled the beginning of a delay interval. During differential signal conditions, different stimuli were correlated with the 5-s and 15-s delays, whereas the same stimulus appeared during both delay durations during nondifferential signal conditions. Pigeons showed similar, extreme levels of preference for the 5-s delay alternative during unsignaled and differentially signaled conditions. Preference levels were reliably lower with nondifferential signals. Experiment 2 assessed preference with two pairs of unsignaled delays in which the ratio of delays was held constant but the absolute duration was increased fourfold. No effect of absolute duration was found. The results highlight the importance of delayed primary reinforcement effects and challenge models of choice that focus solely on conditioned reinforcement.

Effects of quinolinic acid-induced lesions of the orbital prefrontal cortex on inter-temporal choice: a quantitative analysis

“…Mazur 1987Mazur , 1997Gibbon et al 1988;Grace 1994;Richards 1997Richards , 1999Mobini et al 2000). However, the precise role of such stimuli in influencing choice behaviour remains controversial (Mazur 1995(Mazur , 1997McDevitt and Williams 2001). According to Mazur (1995Mazur ( , 1997, intra-delay stimuli acquire conditioned reinforcing properties by virtue of their association with the delayed primary reinforcers, the reinforcing efficacy of such stimuli being inversely related to the time spent in their presence.…”

Local Effects of Delayed Food

“…When food is delayed by blackout in concurrent schedules (Chung & Herrnstein, 1967), the procedure is similar to concurrent-chain schedules, the concurrent situation being like the initial link and the blackouts being like the terminal links (Davison, 1983). Much research has addressed the effects of delay on extended concurrent-and concurrent-chain-schedule performance, both using food delayed in blackout and food available after responding on distinctively signaled schedules (i.e., standard concurrent-chain schedules; see McDevitt &Williams, 2001, andOmino &Ito, 1993, for a comparison of these procedures). Although the length of the initial links of concurrent chains affects choice a little when food delivery in the terminal links is immediate (i.e., concurrent schedules; Alsop & Elliffe, 1988;Elliffe & Alsop, 1996), the length of the initiallink schedules (i.e., reciprocal of terminal-link entry rate) affects choice strongly when food is delayed (Berg & Grace, 2004).…”

Effects of response effort, delay, and stimulus changes on the sunk -cost effect

“…Thus, in the present experiment, signals facilitated efficient responding, consistent with previous literature on the sunk-cost effect and other areas of inquiry (cf. Lieving, Reilly & Lattal, 2006;McDevitt & Williams, 2001;Navarro & Fantino, 2005, 2007Siegel & Rachlin, 1995).…”

“…Ainslie, 1975;Diller, Saunders & Anderson, 2008;Mazur, 1987) and in other areas as well (cf. Beardsley & Balster, 1993;Lattal, 1984;McDevitt, & Williams, 2001;Stretch, Gerber & Lane, 1976). Increasing the delay to the onset of the next trial should decrease responding that is followed by the delay.…”

“…Indeed, it has been well established that increasing the delay to a reinforcer reduces its efficacy (cf. Ainslie, 1975;Diller, Saunders & Anderson, 2008;Lattal, 1984;Mazur, 1987;McDevitt, & Williams, 2001;Stretch, Gerber & Lane, 1976). Future research could yoke the delay and the response requirement to more completely assess the relation between these variables.…”