Response patterning on an avoidance schedule as a function of time-correlated stimuli.
Finer time-correlated stimulus segmentation lowers avoidance response rates in laboratory monkeys.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team worked with lab monkeys on an avoidance schedule.
Each monkey could press a lever to stop a mild shock.
Lights came on in timed segments to mark the session.
The researchers changed how many lights glowed at once.
They then counted how fast the monkeys pressed and when.
What they found
When many lights were on together, the monkeys pressed faster.
Their response times also bunched closer together.
With only one light on, pressing stayed slow and steady.
Finer time cues pushed rates up and made timing tighter.
How this fits with other research
PLISKOFF (1963) built the camera tool that let the team see these tiny timing shifts.
Gaucher et al. (2020) later showed kids with autism can also learn timing rules under DRL, linking the animal work to our clients.
Henton (1972), done in the same lab, found food delivery tweaks also changed avoidance speed, showing the setup is sensitive to many variables.
Why it matters
You now know that adding more time cues can speed up behavior.
If a client responds too slowly, try splitting the session into clear, short visual chunks.
If the goal is to slow down, keep cues broad and minimal.
Check IQ and language skills first, as Gaucher et al. (2020) show these shape timing success.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Control of avoidance response patterning by time-correlated stimuli was studied in rhesus monkeys. At several shock-shock = response-shock intervals, the intervals were divided into 8, 4, or 2 time segments by correlating, respectively, 1, 2, or 4 discrete lights of an eight-light display with each successive segment. A further condition examined response patterning when the avoidance interval was not segmented: all eight lights of the display were lit throughout the interval. Reversal of the order in which the lights were lit in sequence was also examined. Generally, increasing the number of lights lit at one time (decreasing the number of signalled time segments) increased response rates and shifted interresponse time distributions to the left. When the lights were lit one at a time, signalling eight discrete time segments of the interval, response rates were consistently low.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1972 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1972.18-525