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PUNISHMENT OF OBSERVING BY THE NEGATIVE DISCRIMINATIVE STIMULUS

PUNISHMENT OF OBSERVING BY THE NEGATIVE DISCRIMINATIVE STIMULUS To determine the effect of a negative discriminative stimulus on the response producing it, two pigeons were each studied in a three‐key conditioning chamber. During alternating periods of unpredictable duration, pecking the center (food) key either was reinforced with grain on a variable‐interval schedule or was never reinforced. On equal but independent variable‐interval schedules, pecking either of the side (observing) keys changed the color of all keys for 30 sec from yellow to either green or red. When the schedule on the center key was variable‐interval reinforcement, the color was green (positive discriminative stimulus); when no reinforcements were scheduled, the color was red (negative discriminative stimulus). Since pecking the side keys did not affect grain deliveries, changes in the rate of pecking could not be ascribed to changes in the frequency of primary reinforcement. In subsequent sessions, red was withheld as one of the possible consequences of pecking a given side key. When red was omitted, the rate on that key increased, and when red was restored, the rate decreased. It was concluded that red illumination of the keys, the negative discriminative stimulus, had a suppressive effect on the response that produced it. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Wiley

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References (25)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
1974 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
ISSN
0022-5002
eISSN
1938-3711
DOI
10.1901/jeab.1974.21-37
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

To determine the effect of a negative discriminative stimulus on the response producing it, two pigeons were each studied in a three‐key conditioning chamber. During alternating periods of unpredictable duration, pecking the center (food) key either was reinforced with grain on a variable‐interval schedule or was never reinforced. On equal but independent variable‐interval schedules, pecking either of the side (observing) keys changed the color of all keys for 30 sec from yellow to either green or red. When the schedule on the center key was variable‐interval reinforcement, the color was green (positive discriminative stimulus); when no reinforcements were scheduled, the color was red (negative discriminative stimulus). Since pecking the side keys did not affect grain deliveries, changes in the rate of pecking could not be ascribed to changes in the frequency of primary reinforcement. In subsequent sessions, red was withheld as one of the possible consequences of pecking a given side key. When red was omitted, the rate on that key increased, and when red was restored, the rate decreased. It was concluded that red illumination of the keys, the negative discriminative stimulus, had a suppressive effect on the response that produced it.

Journal

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of BehaviorWiley

Published: Jan 1, 1974

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