Abstract
Observing behavior allows an organism to observe discriminative stimuli without affecting the overall probability of reinforcement. Several explanations have been proposed for what underlies this behavior, including uncertainty reduction and various forms of conditioned reinforcement. In the present research, we attempted to assess the effect of probability of reinforcement using a two-alternative choice procedure. In Experiment 1, the response cost for observing the discriminative stimuli was the same as that for observing the nondiscriminative stimuli. The preference for discriminative stimuli was high at all levels of overall reinforcement probability from 12.5 to 87.5%, but it was highest when the overall probability of reinforcement was low. In Experiment 2, the strength of the preference for the discriminative stimuli was assessed by progressively increasing the response cost to obtain them (while the response cost for obtaining the nondiscriminative stimuli remained low) until the preference was reversed. The lower the reinforcement probability, the greater the response cost to obtain the discriminative stimuli that was required to reverse the preference. The present results offer support for certain conditioned reinforcement accounts of observing behavior. Furthermore, they suggest that the choice procedure, together with the titration of effort to obtain the discriminative stimuli, offers a sensitive test of the preference for discriminative stimuli.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 201-220 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Learning and Motivation |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1999 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Observing behavior allows an organism to observe discriminative stimuli without affecting the overall probability of reinforcement. Several explanations have been proposed for what underlies this behavior, including uncertainty reduction and various forms of conditioned reinforcement. In the present research, we attempted to assess the effect of probability of reinforcement using a two-alternative choice procedure. In Experiment 1, the response cost for observing the discriminative stimuli was the same as that for observing the nondiscriminative stimuli. The preference for discriminative stimuli was high at all levels of overall reinforcement probability from 12.5 to 87.5%, but it was highest when the overall probability of reinforcement was low. In Experiment 2, the strength of the preference for the discriminative stimuli was assessed by progressively increasing the response cost to obtain them (while the response cost for obtaining the nondiscriminative stimuli remained low) until the preference was reversed. The lower the reinforcement probability, the greater the response cost to obtain the discriminative stimuli that was required to reverse the preference. The present results offer support for certain conditioned reinforcement accounts of observing behavior. Furthermore, they suggest that the choice procedure, together with the titration of effort to obtain the discriminative stimuli, offers a sensitive test of the preference for discriminative stimuli. ª 1999 Academic Press This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS-9019080 and National Institute of Mental Health Grant 45979 to T.R.Z. These experiments were part of K.L.R.’s doctoral dissertation. She thanks the members of her advisory committee for their helpful comments and suggestions. We also are grateful to Lou Sherburne and Daren Kaiser for their interest in this project and their help in conducting the research.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology