Shahan, T. A. (2002).
Observing behavior: Effects of rate and magnitude of primary reinforcement.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
78, 161-178.
Four experiments examined the free-operant observing behavior of
rats. In Experiment 1, observing was a bitonic function of
random-ratio schedule requirements for the primary reinforcer. In
Experiment 2, decreases in the magnitude of the primary
reinforcer decreased observing. Experiment 3 examined observing
when a random-ratio schedule or a yoked random-time schedule of
primary reinforcement was in effect across conditions. Removing
the response requirement for the primary reinforcer increased
observing, suggesting that the effects of the random-ratio
schedule in Experiment 1 likely were due to an interaction
between observing and responding for the primary reinforcer. In
Experiment 4, decreasing the rate of primary reinforcement by
increasing the duration of a random-time schedule decreased
observing monotonically. Overall, these results suggest that
observing decreases with decreases in the rate or magnitude of
the primary reinforcer, but that behavior related to the primary
reinforcer can affect observing and potentially affect
measurement of conditioned reinforcing value.
Key words: observing, conditioned reinforcement,
reinforcement rate, reinforcement magnitude, lever press, rats