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Choice as time allocation.

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TLDR
The present results, together with related research, suggest that the ratio of time spent in two activities equals the ratios of the "values" of the activities.
Abstract
When pigeons' standing on one or the other side of a chamber was reinforced on two concurrent variable-interval schedules, the ratio of time spent on the left to time spent on the right was directly proportional to the ratio of reinforcements produced by standing on the left to reinforcements produced by standing on the right. The constant of proportionality was less than unity for all pigeons, indicating a bias toward the right side of the chamber. The biased matching relation obtained here is comparable to the matching relation obtained with concurrent reinforcement of key pecks. The present results, together with related research, suggest that the ratio of time spent in two activities equals the ratio of the "values" of the activities. The value of an activity is the product of several parameters, such as rate and amount of reinforcement, contingent on that activity.

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Book ChapterDOI

1.06 – Operant Behavior

TL;DR: This chapter reviews the conditions under which reinforcement takes place, that is, how an animal is able to detect that a reinforcer is delivered as the consequence of the emission of a behavior (operant learning), and looks at how behavior is modulated by its consequences in situations in which reinforcement occurs at a fixed time after a specific event (interval timing).
Journal ArticleDOI

The case against Allen's generalization of the matching law.

TL;DR: This paper argues that Allen's proof is not correct when schedules are presented in pairs and that his initial assumptions are too restrictive when all schedules are simultaneously available.
Book ChapterDOI

Introduction to Molar Behaviorism and Multiscale Behavior Analysis

TL;DR: A natural science of behavior may be based on three laws: allocation, induction, and covariance as discussed by the authors, and a molar view of behavior, consistent with these laws, may apply at any time scale, from milliseconds to years.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Relative and absolute strength of response as a function of frequency of reinforcement

TL;DR: The present experiment is a study of strength of response of pigeons on a concurrent schedule under which they peck at either of two response-keys and investigates output as a function of frequency of reinforcement.
Journal ArticleDOI

Choice and delay of reinforcement

TL;DR: The relative frequency of responding at each key was shown to match the relative immediacy of reinforcement, immediacy defined as the reciprocal of the delay of reinforcement.
Journal ArticleDOI

Concurrent performances: a baseline for the study of reinforcement magnitude1

TL;DR: When a pigeon's pecking on a single key was reinforced by a variable-interval (VI) schedule of reinforcement, the rate of pecking was insensitive to changes in the duration of reinforcement from 3 to 6 sec.
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