THE DISTRIBUTION OF OBSERVING RESPONSES IN A MIXED FI-FR SCHEDULE.
Information-seeking spikes right after reinforcement but fades once the main operant response takes over.
01Research in Context
What this study did
DEWS (1965) watched pigeons in a mixed FI-FR schedule. Birds could peck a food key or peck a separate key that briefly showed the schedule color.
The team counted these extra "observing" pecks to see when birds cared about stimulus information.
What they found
Observing pecks jumped right after food, then dropped fast once birds began normal food-key pecking. Food delivery momentarily made information valuable, but ongoing operant responses quickly won the competition for the bird's time.
How this fits with other research
Weisberg et al. (1966) saw a similar mid-interval peak with pure FI schedules, showing the pattern is tied to FI timing, not the FR part.
Hirota (1974) later compared mixed versus multiple schedules and found observing rates flip from positive to negative as stimulus control changes, building directly on B's mixed-schedule baseline.
Hymowitz (1973) stretched or shrank FI length and saw almost no change in observing, hinting that schedule duration is less important than the moment of reinforcement B captured.
Why it matters
The study reminds you that reinforcement moments briefly raise the value of information. If you give clients access to cues or feedback, deliver them right after strong reinforcers when attention is high. Then get back to the main task before the cue becomes noise.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In Exp I, three pigeons were trained on an observing response procedure where observing responses produced a stimulus correlated either with FI or with FR. Stimulus duration was 30 sec. During FR, the subjects completed the ratio before the stimulus terminated. During FI, the subjects usually observed the stimulus only once. Observing responses occurred immediately after food reinforcement. In Exp II, stimulus duration was shortened to 5 sec and the FR for food was increased. The results were similar to those of Exp 1. During most FIs and FRs, only one observing response occurred. The results of both experiments could be interpreted in a response competition framework. Immediately after food reinforcement, observing behavior is strong. When behavior on the food key begins it competes with further observing behavior.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1965 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1965.8-305