Second‐order Schedules of Token Reinforcement With Pigeons: Implications for Unit Price

Bullock, Christopher E.; Hackenberg, Timothy D.

doi:10.1901/jeab.2006.116-04

Cited by 27 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Both of these effects are consistent with prior research on token‐accumulation procedures (Yankelevitz et al, ). That latencies were longer in the initial (token‐production) segment than in the later (exchange‐production) segment is consistent with the literature on extended‐chained schedules (Bullock & Hackenberg, ; Kelleher, ; Kelleher & Gollub, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

Generalized conditioned reinforcement with pigeons in a token economy

DeFulio

Yankelevitz

Bullock

et al. 2014

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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Six pigeons were studied in a token economy in which tokens could be produced and exchanged for food on one side of an experimental chamber and for water on the opposite side of the chamber. Responses on one key produced tokens according to a token-production fixed ratio (FR) schedule. Responses on a second key produced an exchange period during which tokens were exchanged for water or food. In Experiment 1a, food tokens could be earned and exchanged under restricted food budgets, and water tokens could be earned and exchanged under water restricted budgets. In Experiment 1b, a third (generalized) token type could be earned and exchanged for either food or water under water restricted budgets. Across Experiments 1a and 1b, the number of tokens accumulated prior to exchange increased as the exchange-production schedule was increased. In Experiment 1b, pigeons produced more generalized than specific tokens, suggesting enhanced reinforcing efficacy of generalized tokens. In Experiment 2, the FR token-production price was manipulated under water restriction and then under food restriction. Production of each token type generally declined as a function of its own price and increased as a function of the price of the alternate type, demonstrating own-price and cross-price elasticity. Production of food and water tokens often changed together, indicating complementarity. Production of specific and generalized tokens changed in opposite directions, indicating substitutability. This is the first demonstration of sustained generalized functions of tokens in nonhumans, and illustrates a promising method for exploring economic contingencies in a controlled environment.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

Generalized conditioned reinforcement with pigeons in a token economy

DeFulio

Yankelevitz

Bullock

et al. 2014

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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“…Response rates varied inversely, and pre-ratio pausing directly, with the FR exchange-production schedule, replicating previous findings with FR exchange-schedule manipulations (Foster et al, 2001& Malagodi, 1978Bullock & Hackenberg, 2006). For the pigeons studied in the large-token chamber, the token components generally produced lower response rates, and higher pre-ratio pausing, than the otherwise identical tandem components, a finding that is also consistent with prior research on extended-chained schedules (Jwaideh, 1973).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The temporal organization of behavior across successive response segments was consistent with that seen in prior research with token schedules (Foster et al, 2001;Bullock & Hackenberg, 2006), as well as other sequence schedules (Zimmerman & Ferster, 1964;Jwaideh, 1973).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…This graded pattern is an important indicator of discriminative functions of added stimuli such as tokens. The exchange-production FR was varied across conditions in a manner consistent with prior research (Foster et al, 2001;Bullock & Hackenberg, 2006; ). The present experiment may therefore be conceptualized as a systematic replication (Sidman, 1960), but with tandem-control conditions to assess the stimulus functions of the tokens.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kelleher (1958), for example, showed that fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of token delivery engender response patterning comparable to that produced by simple FR schedules of food delivery, supporting the view of tokens as conditioned reinforcers. More recently, Bullock & Hackenberg (2006) examinedtoken-reinforced behavior as a function of FR token-production ratio (the number of responses required to produce a token) and FR exchange-production ratio (number of tokens required to produce an exchange period). The token-production and exchange-production FRs were manipulated parametrically across conditions.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The several roles of stimuli in token reinforcement

Bullock

Hackenberg

2015

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

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Three experiments were conducted with pigeons to identify the stimulus functions of tokens in second-order token-reinforcement schedules. All experiments employed two-component multiple schedules with a token-reinforcement schedule in one component and a schedule with equivalent response requirements and/or reinforcer density in the other. In Experiment 1, response rates were lower under a token-reinforcement schedule than under a tandem schedule with the same response requirements, suggesting a discriminative role for the tokens. In Experiment 2, response rates varied systematically with signaling functions of the tokens in a series of conditions designed to explore other aspects of the temporal-correlative relations between tokens and food. In Experiment 3, response rates were reduced but not eliminated by presenting tokens independent of responding, yoked to their temporal occurrence in a preceding token component, suggesting both a reinforcing function and eliciting/evocative functions based on stimulus-food relations. Only when tokens were removed entirely was responding eliminated. On the whole, the results suggest that tokens, as stimuli temporally correlated with food, may serve multiple stimulus functions in token-reinforcement procedures--reinforcing, discriminative, or eliciting--depending on the precise arrangement of the contingencies in which they are embedded.

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Exchange schedules in token economies: A preliminary investigation of second‐order schedule effects

Argueta

Leon

Brewer

2019

Behavioral Interventions

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Basic research shows that token-production and exchangeproduction schedules in token economies affect each other as second-order schedules (i.e., the exchange-production schedule's requirements affect responding toward the token-production schedule). This relationship has not been investigated with children in academic settings despite the widespread use of token economies in this context. This study compared the effects of fixed-ratio (FR) and variable-ratio (VR) exchange-production schedules of equal ratios (2, 5, and 10) on responding toward an FR 1 tokenproduction schedule with a child diagnosed with autism. A concurrent chains assessment was also conducted to assess the participant's relative preference for FR and VR exchange-production schedule arrangements within her typical discrete trial training. Results showed no difference in response rate between the two schedule types. However, the concurrent chains assessment revealed an exclusive preference for the VR arrangement.

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Second‐order Schedules of Token Reinforcement With Pigeons: Implications for Unit Price

Cited by 27 publications

References 19 publications

Generalized conditioned reinforcement with pigeons in a token economy

Generalized conditioned reinforcement with pigeons in a token economy

The several roles of stimuli in token reinforcement

Exchange schedules in token economies: A preliminary investigation of second‐order schedule effects

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