Divided attention and the matching law: Sample duration affects sensitivity to reinforcement allocation |
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Authors: | Timothy A Shahan Christopher A Podlesnik |
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Institution: | Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, USA. tim.shahan@usu.edu |
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Abstract: | Previously, we have shown that changes in pigeons’ divided attention performance resulting from changes in relative reinforcement
are well described by the generalized matching law. In the present experiment, we examined whether sensitivity of performance
to variations in relative reinforcement would be dependent upon sample duration. Pigeons responded on a delayed matching-to-sample
procedure with compound samples (color 1 line orientation) and element comparison stimuli (two colors or two line orientations).
Relative reinforcement for accurate matches on the two types of comparison trials varied across conditions. Sample duration
was short (i.e., 0.75 sec) for half of the trials in a session and longer (i.e., 2.25 sec) for the other half. Sensitivity
of accuracy to changes in relative reinforcement was greater with the longer sample than with the shorter sample, suggesting
that differential reinforcement alters the allocation of attending to the elements of compound stimuli. Continued examination
of the applicability of well-established theories of goal-directed behavior to the allocation of attention may provide further
insights into what is variously referred to as goal-directed, voluntary, endogenous, or top-down control of attention. |
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