Suboptimal Choice in Pigeons: Stimulus Value Predicts Choice over Frequencies.

ABSTRACT: Pigeons have shown suboptimal gambling-like behavior when preferring a stimulus that infrequently signals reliable reinforcement over alternatives that provide greater reinforcement overall. As a mechanism for this behavior, recent research proposed that the stimulus value of alternatives with more reliable signals for reinforcement will be preferred relatively independently of their frequencies. The present study tested this hypothesis using a simplified design of a Discriminative alternative that, 50% of the time, led to either a signal for 100% reinforcement or a blackout period indicative of 0% reinforcement against a Nondiscriminative alternative that always led to a signal that predicted 50% reinforcement. Pigeons showed a strong preference for the Discriminative alternative that rem

SUBMITTER: Smith AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4956316 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature