Allocation of complex, sequential operants on multiple and concurrent schedules of reinforcement.
A long response chain can act like one button press—schedule changes alter how often it starts, not how it runs.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers taught pigeons to peck four times in the same order. The birds had to hit four keys in a row, every time.
The team then put the four-peck chain on two kinds of schedules. On multiple schedules only the color changed between parts. On concurrent schedules the birds could hop between two keys. The question: would the birds treat the whole chain like one big response?
What they found
The pigeons acted as if the four-peck chain was a single button press. When reinforcement rates changed, the birds shifted how often they started the chain, but the inside pattern stayed perfect.
On multiple schedules the birds showed contrast: if one side paid more, they almost never began the low-pay chain. On concurrent schedules they followed the matching law, splitting starts to match payoff ratios.
How this fits with other research
Lobb et al. (1977) saw the same under-matching on multiple schedules, but they used simple pecks. The new study shows that even long chains behave like those single pecks.
Catania (1972) kept response rates steady by tweaking local rules. Here, the local rules inside the chain never changed, so rate shifts came only from start choices.
Cerutti et al. (2004) later used the same allocation ideas to cut stereotypy in children. The pigeon work gives the baseline: treat a rigid sequence as one response, then shift its payoff to change how often it starts.
Why it matters
If a client repeats a long, rigid routine, think of it as a single operant. You don’t have to break the inside order; instead, change the payoff for starting it. Reinforce an alternative chain, and the old one will drop without touching the inner steps.
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Track how many times the client begins the problem routine, then reinforce a different chain that gives the same sensory payoff.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Pigeons could produce food by pecking exactly four times on each of two keys, in any order. In the first experiment, these response sequences were reinforced on a series of multiple schedules of variable-interval reinforcement. In the second experiment, these response sequences were reinforced on a series of concurrent schedules of reinforcement. In both experiments, highly stereotyped response sequences developed. If these response sequences were treated as individual responses, the resulting data conformed to what is typically reported in studies of multiple and concurrent schedules involving individual responses. For example, behavioral contrast was observed with the multiple schedules, and matching was observed with the concurrent schedules. However, schedule manipulation had no effect on within-sequence characteristics of responses like accuracy, stereotypy, or rate. These data constitute further evidence that response sequences can become functional behavioral units.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1986 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1986.45-283