Dallery Jesse, Soto Paul L, McDowell J J
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-2250, USA.
J Exp Anal Behav. 2005 Sep;84(2):129-45. doi: 10.1901/jeab.2005.108-04.
The present study tested a formal, or purely mathematical, theory of matching, and a modern account derived by McDowell (1986) that incorporates deviations from strict matching-bias and sensitivity. Six humans pressed a lever for monetary reinforcers on five concurrent variable interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement. All schedules were presented during each session. The magnitude on one alternative remained constant, and five magnitudes were presented across sessions on the other alternative. To test the formal account, two absolute response rate equations were fitted to the response and reinforcement rates at each alternative at each magnitude. Although the equations accounted for a high percentage of variance, there was a significant negative correlation between the standardized residuals and the predicted response rates. To test the modern account, an ensemble of four equations was fitted to the data. The equations predicted relative and absolute responding, and the independent variables in each equation were adjusted for bias and sensitivity. The equations accounted for a high percentage of variance, and the standardized residuals were not correlated with the predicted response rates. The values of the parameters were consistent with empirical findings and theoretical predictions, including the prediction that k should remain constant across changes in reinforcer magnitude. The results suggest that the formal theory of matching does not describe the data, and that the modern theory may provide an accurate and coherent description of concurrent and single-alternative responding.
本研究测试了一种形式化的、即纯粹数学的匹配理论，以及麦克道尔（1986年）推导的一种现代理论，该理论纳入了与严格匹配偏差和敏感性的偏差。六名受试者在五个并发可变间隔（VI）强化程序上按压杠杆以获取金钱强化物。所有程序在每个实验阶段都会呈现。一个选项的大小保持不变，另一个选项在不同实验阶段呈现五个大小。为了测试形式化理论，将两个绝对反应率方程拟合到每个大小下每个选项的反应率和强化率上。尽管这些方程解释了很高比例的方差，但标准化残差与预测反应率之间存在显著的负相关。为了测试现代理论，将一组四个方程拟合到数据上。这些方程预测了相对和绝对反应，并且每个方程中的自变量针对偏差和敏感性进行了调整。这些方程解释了很高比例的方差，并且标准化残差与预测反应率不相关。参数值与实证结果和理论预测一致，包括k在强化物大小变化时应保持不变的预测。结果表明，形式化的匹配理论无法描述这些数据，而现代理论可能为并发和单选项反应提供准确且连贯的描述。
