Choice, Preference and Self-Control

Choice

Distribution of operant behavior among alternative sources of reinforcement

Preference

One alternative is chosen more than others

Self-Control

Selecting the larger, delayed reinforcer while rejecting the immediate, smaller reinforcer

Delay Discounting

Reinforcement value decreases as the delay increases between the choice and reinforcer

Increasing Self-Control

- Insert a delay in the availability of the small SR

- Provide alternate activity to engage in during the delay

- Make a choice in advance (when value of small SR is low still) --> It must be impossible to change choice later

- Offer large SR immediately and gradually increase the delay

Experimentally examine choice and preference

-Use concurrent schedules of reinforcement

--Two or more schedules of reinforcement

--Operate independently and simultaneously

--Two or more behaviors

-MEASURE: amount of time and/or responses allocated to each alternative

Procedures used for choice and preference

Concurrent schedules of reinforcement

- Higher response/time allocation = Preference

If all else is EQUAL

- Option with higher SR --> higher time and /or response allocation

Schedule used to study Preference

Fixed Interval Schedule

-Schedules are independent of one another

ex: Lever A: FI 2 min = $1

Lever B: FI 6 min = $1

Response:

- Exclusive preference: $30 hr

- Efficient: $40 hr

Predictable interval

-Switching b/w schedule based on FI length

Schedule used to study Choice

Variable Interval Schedule

-Schedules are independent of one another

-Irregular switching

-More sensitive to reinforcement rates

-Change over Delay

-Respond according to Matching Law

Schedules NOT used to study (choice and preference)

Ratio Schedule

- Fixed or Variable: exclusive responding to option w/highest payoff

Limitation

--not possible to observe distribution of responses b/w alternatives

Change over delay (COD)

-Occurs during VI schedule

-SR unavailable for brief interval after switch

-Prevents SR for adventitious switching

Matching Law

-Relative rate of responding matches relative rate of reinforcement

-A matter of proportion

Behavioral Response (Matching Law)

Applications of Matching Law

-Reliably observed across species and a variety of conditions

-Rats

-Group Conversation

-Problem vs. appropriate behavior

Departures from Exact Matching

Undermatching, Overmatching, and Bias

Undermatching

Responding is lower than would be predicted to the relative rate of SR

-A large change in relative rate of SR to produce small change in relative rate of R

Overmatching

Responding is higher than would be predicted to the relative rate of SR

Bias

Organism consistently spends more R on one alternative than predicted by the matching equation

Contributions to bias